To all the women of the NWSA audience,
I am a writer. I came to the conference to showcase my passion and humble talents as a scholar, not to be marveled over my Arab background. To place me in the panel regarding Gender and Sexuality in literature completely disregards what I am here to present, and unfortunately, that sheds light on your rather inconsiderate cultural awareness regarding Arab American women. Though our religion may endorse rather patriarchal values that without doubt should be addressed, to depict us all as victims of male dominance is to ignore our individualities as feminists. The disastrous event of 9/11 has appalled all of you, and rightfully so. Yet it has also unfairly given you the invisible right to categorize us all as potential dangers. I ask of you all to simply regard us Arab women as fellow feminists. Though we cannot equalize all of our experiences due to all our different backgrounds, fundamentally we are all feminists. I am not making the dangerous mistake of generalizing all of us as experiencing the same hardships as that would be unfair for many of us. Yet I ask of you to try to put aside your misconceptions regarding our ethnic background, sparing our individualities as Arab American Feminists. 

-Amira Jarmakani

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