US-based Pakistani artiste, Arooj Aftab, called journalists out on Twitter yesterday for “unloading” their Islamophobia and problematic white feminist views onto her.
Despite winning multiple awards, including a Grammy Award for ‘Best Global Music’, she revealed that she still has to deal with ignorant questions due to her identity as a female musician from Pakistan.
She tweeted, “So tired of journalists just casually unloading their cultural imperialism, Islamophobia, problematic white feminist views and straight-up ignorance into me just because I am a Pakistani woman”.
“Can they please do better. How do we make this happen,” she added.
So tired of journalists just casually unloading their cultural imperialism, Islamophobia, problematic white feminist views and straight up ignorance into me just because I am a Pakistani woman. Can they please do better. How do we make this happen
— arooj aftab (@arooj_aftab) November 6, 2022
Twitterati agreed to the singer’s rant and one replied, “Do they ask you, are women in Pakistan allowed to sing?’ or ask you about Malala.
She continued,
The west sure makes our history starts with Taliban and ends with Taliban.
Do they ask you, are women in Pakistan allowed to sing? 🫣or ask you about Malala , the west sure makes our history starts with Taliban and ends with Taliban
— Amina BiBi (@AminabibiNoor) November 7, 2022
You can flip it back at them. Confuse the heck out of them. Back in the day I learned that Maestro Fellini used to “tell” different stories to reporters and no one knew what was true really. Brilliant.
— digitalmarionette (@digi_marionette) November 7, 2022
Ask them “what did the 5 fingers say to the face?”
— Olive 🫒 (@MsAhlove) November 6, 2022
If a Grammy win doesn’t set it straight, what will. Smh
— zoya mir (@_zohm) November 6, 2022
About Arooj Aftab
Arooj Aftab is a US-based Pakistani singer, composer, and producer who has been breaking new ground with her soulful tunes. The 37-year-old has steadily been gaining global attention for her work that fuses various genres such as jazz, folk, minimalism, and neo-Sufi.
She has released three albums so far — Bird Under Water (2014), Siren Islands (2018), and Vulture Prince (2021) — and gained even more attention after former US president, Barack Obama, included her song Mohabbat in his 2021 summer favorites list.
Arooj Aftab submitted her new song, Udhero Na, (featuring Anoushka Shankar) for consideration to the Grammys last month. The award show will take place on 5 February 2023 in Los Angeles, and the nominations will be announced on 15 November 2022.
