THE role of Muslim women in Australian society has always been a positive one but should not be compartmentalised by stereotypes, a UWA professor said in a speech in Bull Creek last week.
About 100 women attended the speech at Bull Creek Community Centre – hosted by the WA Executive of the Penguin Club – to celebrate International Women’s Day.
UWA Centre for Muslim States and Societies director Professor Samina Yasmeen told the audience that Muslim women had been involved in Australian society for more than 100 years.
“When we talk about Muslim women in Australia we have to start with the fact that Muslim women are not new to this country,” she said.
Prof Yasmeen said research the centre had conducted showed Australian Muslim women placed a very strong emphasis on the mother role. But after the 9/11 World Trade Center destruction, their role had also become that of “‘bridge builders” in Australian society.
“After 9/11, a lot of these women realised that they needed to come out and play an active role in the community,” Prof Yasmeen said.
However, she said the onus was also on the wider community to shift its perception of what it meant to be a Muslim woman and what it meant to integrate into society. “Not all Muslim women wear a hijab,” she said.
“I think what we need to accept is that we also need to shift our understanding on what it means to be integrated or part of the community.
“I think if we do this we can actually start thinking about living with each other.”