Apsana Begum is the first hijab- parliamentarian of Labour party. She has said that she refused to be silenced by her party after accusing the Labour leadership of abandoning her. She has accused her local Labour-led council and ex-husband of “sustained campaign of misogynistic abuse”. In the closing rally of The World Transformed festival in Liverpool she claimed that, ” the level of inhumanity towards me has been chilling”. Nelson Mandela said, “freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all kinds of oppression.” Oppression can be of any form, but in modern world women needs to know about their rights and take stand for themselves. The Kurdish woman, killed by the so-called moral police brings to question, “are women really free?”
Why is she Being Targeted?
Ma. begum, a survivor of domestic abuse, criticized the party’s decision to refuse to pause an ongoing trigger ballot in her despite her ill-health. She says, “I am being targeted because I speak against Islamophobia and institutional racism”. Further she adds that, “and ultimately I’m being targeted because I still hold onto that hope of a socialist vision”.
Her Speech
She gave a defiant closing message to the socialist Campaign Group where she said, “I don’t know what future will hold, but I want to make this very very clear: this socialist, Muslim working-class woman will not be silenced”. She being a working-class woman has nothing to loosed except her chains. She is fierce and bold in her approach towards any form of oppression and abuse.
Party’s Role
Nadia Whittome has accused the leadership of failing to :step in when it had power and duty to do so and protect her”. She further said that “attacks of left” must be stopped and Jeremy Corbyn must be restored as the whip of the party. Keir Starmer has been championing the left. His tribute to Queen has gained lot of criticism on the inaugural day of The World Transformed. Party has not supported her instead has asked her to face ballot.
Begum has also accused the party for practice of factionalism. The Labour party which stands as the symbol of people’s party and against capitalism and pro-socialist, practicing all the evil has put their stakes on risk. Women have always been oppressed but the working0class women has been “doubly oppressed”. Begum’s speech reminds us that women are not weak or not the “otherized” gender which needs men’s assistance.
