Books
Is feminism still a dirty word? We asked twenty-five of the brightest, funniest, bravest young women what being a feminist in 2015 means to them.
We hear from Laura Bates (of the Everyday Sexism Project), Reni Eddo-Lodge (award-winning journalist and author), Yas Necati (an eighteen-year-old activist), Laura Pankhurst, great-great granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and an activist in her own right, comedian Sofie Hagen, engineer Naomi Mitchison and Louise O’Neill, author of the award-winning feminist Young Adult novel Only Ever Yours.
Writing about a huge variety of subjects, we have Martha Mosse on how she became a feminist, Alice Stride on sexism in language, Amy Annette addressing the body politic and Samira Shackle on having her eyes opened in a hostel for survivors of acid attacks in Islamabad, while Maysa Haque thinks about the way Islam has informed her feminism and Isabel Adomakoh Young insists that women don’t have to be perfect. There are twelve other performers, politicians and writers who include Jade Anouka, Emily Benn, Abigail Matson-Phippard, Hajar Wright and Jinan Younis.
Jinan’s essay is entitled “A manifesto for feminist intersectionality”
I Will Not Be Erased
gal-dem, the award-winning online and print magazine, is created by women and non-binary people of colour. In this life-affirming, moving and joyous collection of fourteen essays, gal-dem’s talented writers use raw material from their teenage years – diaries, poems and chat histories – to give advice to their younger selves and those growing up today.
gal-dem have been praised by the Guardian for being “the agents of change we need” and these essays tackle important subjects including race, gender, mental health and activism, making this essential reading.
Jinan contributed two pieces to two gal-dem magazine issues. The “Home” issue features content centred around the experiences of what home means to us as women of colour, both in a personal and political sense, starring up and coming south London musician Ray BLK. Jinan’s piece is entitled “The Hairy, Fuckable white feminist”.
In the “Secrets Issue” women and non-binary people of colour have poured their souls into 240 pages of the most enriching, exhilarating, and (of course) secret content. For the first time, the magazine has two covers, adorned with the faces of London’s own funky-soul singer and songwriter NAO, as well as New York’s South Asian R&B goddess Raveena Aurora.
Jinan curated a segment in this issue entitled “Secret Immigration Stories” showcasing the immigration stories of our nearest and dearest. Jinan’s piece is entitled “from Pakistan to Manchester”.