Where Oppression Really Comes From

It is clear from the outside what religion Alaa Murabit refers to in her TED Talk. She is wearing a hijab, which is an item worn by Muslim women. She begins her speech by reflecting on her childhood, quickly clarifying that she was never forced into her religion and that she was never taught that God saw her differently because of her gender. The fact that it is necessary for Murabit to emphasize these points so early in her speech highlights the assumptions made about women in the Muslim religion. Murabit continues explaining that she never experienced strict gender roles until she moved to Libya. There, she saw Muslim scriptures being distorted to support an oppressive agenda. Murabit repeatedly uses metaphor to explain that the biggest problem was the fact that women had no voice, no spot at the table when decisions were made. She emphasizes that the problem was never the religion, it was the people in power. She challenges her audience to see that the Quran preaches the equality of men and women, but that any text can be distorted to support particular ideas, and that a spot at the table is the most important thing a person can have. The true root of oppression in Murabit’s religion is the people in power, not the religion itself, as some media portrayals suggest.