Looking at shifting identities of Muslim young women under transnationalism battling through the Orientalist framing on victimization.

Date/Time: 21 Oct 2021, 3pm (Irish Time)

Speaker: Raees Baig (Dr)

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong & Visiting Assistant Professor, School of Social Policy, Social Work & Social Justice, University College Dublin

Abstract: The “War on Terror” discourse constructed after 911 attacks continues to shape race relations in the West. While Hong Kong did not experience terrorist attacks under the religious rhetoric, signs of the orientalist narrative of the “War on Terror” could be identified in the construction of race relations under postcolonial legacy. Based on the narratives of non-Chinese Muslim young women in Hong Kong, this seminar discusses the play out Orientalist Feminism under postcolonialism and how the shifting identities of Muslim young women under transnationalism help them battle through the Orientalist framing on victimization.

Bio: Raees Baig (BSW, PhD HKU) is adjunct assistant professor of social work at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She specializes in the study of gender and race relations in transnational communities, with a focus on women’s empowerment in Muslim communities through women-centred narrative-based approach in deconstruction of myths and stereotypes. Her publications include “Formal and informal social support systems for migrant domestic workers” in American Behavioral Scientist (with C. W. Chang in 2020), “Everyday multiculturalism in union: power construction in migrant domestic workers’ unionism” in Ethnic and Racial Studies (2019), and “The power to change: Muslim women’s rights movement and the resistance towards gender-based violence” in China Journal of Social Work (2017). Besides academic publications, she has published a consortium of stories Break the Barriers - Inside Stories of Ethnic Minority Muslim Girls in Hong Kong and Guidebook on Honour-based Violence for Social Service Practitioners (Upcoming in 2021).

This seminar has been organised by Assoc. Prof. (opens in a new window)Naonori Kodate; Email: (opens in a new window)Naonori.kodate@ucd.ie