hanariaz.com

The Art of Decolonial Love: Terence Nance and ‘An Oversimplification of Her Beauty’

Hana Riaz — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:04:29 +0000

There is a tender moment of revelation for everything. Sometimes it is on the bus or on the street, sometimes it is in yours/somebody’s bed, sometimes it is just somewhere that is nowhere worth remembering. For me, this time it is in the small and dark of a cinema watching a matinee screening of …

Quoted: Dawn Richard and the Facial Transformation of Celebrities

Hana Riaz — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:03:39 +0000

Back in March I was quoted by Evette Dionne on the issue of skin lightening and facial transformation within communities of colour. She used an earlier interview I was a part of in Ceasefire Magazine in 2011. You can check the article online here Filed under: Gender & Sexuality, Politics, Race

Moving the Margins to the Centre: Shifting from Anti-Racist to Pro-Black

Hana Riaz — Fri, 03 May 2013 05:11:33 +0000

For many Women of Colour feminists globally and in the West, our struggle with mainstream feminism remains an arduous and painful one. Despite the great body of work that Women of Colour have created – speaking to diverse experiences of race, gender, class, ethnicity, religion, disability and sexuality –mainstream feminism remains hegemonically white and middle-class, …

De-centering Dialogue: What’s at risk with Femen

Hana Riaz — Fri, 03 May 2013 05:07:41 +0000

It’s Wednesday evening and I’m doing what I love doing: talking over dinner with beautiful women. The nature of what we do means our conversation shifts landscapes, speaking about everything from love, activism, to race, gender and art. After dinner I realise that it’s not often I’m able to sit down with a white woman and …

RECLAIMING OUR JOURNEY: THE POLITICS OF HEALING

Hana Riaz — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:15:27 +0000

“Loving yourself is as much a decision as loving anyone else. Every morning is a question of yes or no. Every day that begins with yes is a good day.” – Yesika Starr Three years ago, after a difficult and heart-wrenching break-up I made the decision to grow, to confront myself, and to heal in …

Sister Outsider | Mapping Violence: Why we need to talk about power

Hana Riaz — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:08:28 +0000

When I started working on this piece, 22-year old Kasandra Perkins was shot to death nine times by her abusive partner, American football player Jovan Belcher. The very same day she was murdered, two other women, lost in and amongst nameless statistics, would have also been killed at the hands of their intimate partners in …

The Power of Looking: Young British Asian Women Negotiating Identity, Difference and Representation

Hana Riaz — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:32:31 +0000

I know some people have requested to read my dissertation for my Msc in Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonial Studies (2012) from London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London. You can read the full essay here Abstract Stereotypes continue to be central in the debates surrounding race and representation in British Media. The …

Sister Outsider | This Is How You Find Yourself: Junot Diaz, Diasporic Narratives and Decolonising Literature

Hana Riaz — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:30:24 +0000

In her latest column, Hana Riaz reflects on the crucial role of diasporic and postcolonial literature. It’s true and I won’t hide it: Roald Dahl was as far as I ever ventured with most white literature as a kid. Unlike my mother who was born and raised in a Pakistan still weighing heavy with the …

Not in Black and White – Interview with Julie Tomlin

Hana Riaz — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:25:00 +0000

Julie Tomlin talks to writer and blogger Hana Riaz about how Asian Muslim women are portrayed in the media and highlights some of the commons mistakes made by white female journalists when writing about them. Read the full interview on the Words of Colour Blog Filed under: Gender & Sexuality, Race Tagged: gender, interview, journalism, …

Feminism is for Everybody Part 1: The Role of Men

Hana Riaz — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:19:11 +0000

The backlash against the feminist movement has rendered the struggle against gender inequality a wholly anti-male and outdated endeavour in the popular imaginary. In the attempt to contest these misrepresentations and reclaim the necessity of these movements, in part one i sat down with leading young black thinkers and activists to discuss their thoughts on …