Beyond Our Borders: Why White Feminism Needs to Evolve

When was the last time you felt truly uncomfortable talking about feminism? 

I understand the fight for equal pay, for reproductive freedom, bodily integrity, and for the equitable division of emotional labor. These are my struggles of a 21st-century feminist.  But when I tried to rally support for women facing the most severe forms of oppression—like those in Afghanistan after the recent earthquake—I felt a strange friction. The conversations became guarded. The silence was palpable.

I came to understand that I was not just talking about feminism. I was walking on cracking ice, navigating the dual pressure of a fearful, sometimes Islamophobic, Western audience and a sensitive Muslim community. It was a pressure that made me realize that the feminism I knew, and the one most of us are taught, is often a feminism of privilege. It's what is now widely called white feminism: a perspective that centers the experiences of white, middle-class women and inadvertently sidelines the struggles of others.

This article is an honest call to action, not a critique of our intentions. It's an invitation to shift our perspective and recognize that feminism, to be truly effective, must be a global and empathetic force.

Well, sometimes it's hard to talk about feminism even here in the West. It's so easy to be labeled as "too much," and it can even be difficult to talk to other women who don't want to be seen as one of those "problematic loud women." It feels like we're trying to achieve equality in just a few decades, but we're really challenging a set of beliefs and a mentality that has been deeply ingrained in human consciousness for thousands and thousands of years. It's like, you can't truly understand any human rights until you understand the fight for equality and feminism; it's the very first step. And then on top of that, trying to talk about feminism within a different cultural and religious circle, especially from an Islamic background, is super hard because you really have to balance both sides.

Neo-colonialism: The concern that Western feminists are imposing their own values and solutions on other cultures, a dynamic that echoes historical colonialism. This can lead to the perception that they are saying, "Your culture is backward and you should be more like us."

Orientalism: The tendency to view Eastern cultures, especially those with a strong Islamic identity, as exotic, primitive, or inherently oppressive. This stereotype often portrays Muslim women as passive, oppressed victims who need to be "saved" by the West, a narrative that ignores the long history of Muslim women's activism and agency.

Islamophobia: The general fear or prejudice against Islam. In the face of a perceived threat, some people may avoid the topic altogether rather than engaging with it critically and compassionately.This is where the distinction between "empowerment" and "imposition" is critical. A white feminist approach might seek to impose a specific model of liberation (e.g., secularism, dressing a certain way), while an intersectional approach seeks to empower women to define their own liberation within their own cultural context.

My personal perspective is that I can see the root of misogyny already in religious and philosophical systems that were the foundational stones of the Abrahamic religions (Ancient Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia). Since I don't have the most appealing opinion about any of the Abrahamic religions, I have to be super careful to express certain things with awareness and tact. In fact, I've even had experiences where white, non-religious men, when faced with feminism, suddenly defend religions to make the point that feminism is somehow "too much."

The Tale of Two Struggles

In the West, our feminist battles are fought over significant, life-altering issues. We protest for the right to choose, we negotiate for fair wages, and we educate partners on the concept of the "mental load." These are all vital for our autonomy and well-being. But in other parts of the world, women are fighting for a different set of rights, for their very survival. In Afghanistan, a woman cannot leave her home without a mahram, a male guardian. The simple act of going to the market or seeking a doctor is a struggle for basic freedom. This reality is a world away from our debates over work-life balance. It's a fight for the most fundamental human rights: the right to move, to learn, to work, and to exist in public. This stark difference in struggles does not diminish the importance of either fight. It does, however, create a moral obligation for those of us with relative freedom and security. If feminism is about universal liberation, we, the privileged, have a duty to lend our support to women in more hostile environments. 

From Imposing to Listening

The primary challenge in this global solidarity is our history. Because of colonialism, we must be consciously aware that we are not here to impose Western values. Our past interventions have often been destructive, and many of the very strict religious groups that now control certain Muslim countries came to power as a reaction to Western colonialism.This history means we cannot show up as saviors. We must instead show up as allies and, most importantly, as listeners.True solidarity means understanding that Afghan women, and women in similar situations, know their own cultural, religious, and political context best. They know what is needed and what is possible. Our role is to ask them what they need and to support them in the way they envision, not in the way we imagine. Our goal is to create a space for them to develop their own values and systems that reflect their unique needs and dreams. 

 It's Not a Competition of Oppression

It is a common fear that by focusing on global struggles, we diminish our own. This is a false dichotomy. Feminism is not a competition of oppression. The battle against patriarchy is a single, interconnected fight, even if the battlefields look different. Whether a woman is denied the right to an abortion in the U.S. or the right to an education in Afghanistan, the root cause is the same: the desire to control women's bodies and limit their power. By recognizing these global patterns, we make our own feminist struggles stronger. We learn that patriarchy has no borders and that our fight is part of a larger, unified front.

Conclusion: A Call to Intersectional Action

The next time you hear about a struggle for women's rights far from home, resist the urge to turn away or categorize it as a "foreign issue." Instead, let it be an invitation to deepen your understanding of feminism.This is a call to action to move beyond the limitations of white feminism. It's a call to actively listen, to learn, and to lend your support in a way that is respectful and empowering. Because as long as a single woman is denied her rights, no woman is truly free.