Joy Labinjo’s work on prominent abolitionist Olaudah Equiano
Rise Up at the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge examines resistance to slavery. It is a welcome attempt to discuss how the university’s collection is still funded by slave trade money.
It is an important project and worth a visit—particularly when the right seeks to close down such debates.
The displays deepen our understanding of black activists, women and freed slaves and their role in mass resistance.
Using the prominent freed slave, writer and activist Olaudah Equiano as a launch pad, Rise Up explores how enslaved people played the decisive role in fighting for their freedom. It shows the strength of slaves in the face of a brutal system and arms visitors with evidence of self-emancipation.
Through the use of contemporary art, plundered artefacts and archival material, many forms of struggle are on display. They include acts of sabotage, strikes, slave ship revolts and military uprisings.
There is a concerted attempt to explore women’s role in all aspects of this fight.
It is a pity that the exhibition leaves little room to explore the Haitian Revolution or celebrate its leader Toussaint Louverture.
Rise Up’s commentary about British-based abolitionists generally focuses on moral arguments. Unfortunately the curators make little distinction between class interests in Britain at the time.
Workers sought common cause with the enslaved because they were being brutalised by the same system. As in today’s society, the interests of workers in imperialist colonial countries align more with the exploited in other parts of the world than they do with their own leaders.
The mass campaign against slavery in Britain laid the ground for Chartism, a mass working class movement for democracy.
Rise Up raises the contradiction faced by ruling class abolitionists, who were often slave owners themselves. But it fails to explain why.
In a rapidly industrialising Britain, investors faced questions about how best compete with imperial rivals and exploit people for profits. And they saw slavery as a drag on the future capitalist programme. They were not driven by humanitarianism or anti-racism.
The exhibition set out to examine the link between slavery and the world today. The vast wealth from the slave trade continues to shape class and race relations globally. It props up elite institutions, including Cambridge University, shaping how the past is presented.
However, Rise Up falls short on its original brief.
That’s probably because to justly address the Fitzwilliams’ relationship to slavery would undermine the very foundations of the building it stands in.
We should take strength from those who have risen up in the past but build on that history with struggles in the streets and in workplace struggles today.
Paula Campion, Marianne Johansen and Tom Woodcock
- Rise Up is on at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, CB2, until 1 June
Bold exploration of Muslim women’s lives today
Samia Rahman’s Muslim Women and Misogyny—Myths and Misunderstandings offers an insightful exploration of the complex relationships between misogyny and Muslim women’s experiences in Britain today.
The book delves into the stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding Muslim womanhood.
It challenges the simplistic narratives that either portray Muslim women as oppressed victims or empowered heroines rejecting their religious teachings.
Rahman navigates through intricate topics such as Muslim feminism, toxic masculinity, marriage, sexuality, and the impact of Islamophobia and white supremacy on gender dynamics.
By drawing extensively from interviews with Muslim women and men Rahman presents a nuanced and multifaceted perspective on Muslim womanhood.
It resists the temptation to provide neatly packaged conclusions, instead embracing the complexity and diversity of Muslim women’s experiences.
I appreciated Rahman’s intellectually curious and thoughtful narrative style. It feels like a conversation with a trusted friend, making the book accessible yet impactful.
Overall, Muslim Women and Misogyny is a much-needed contribution to the discussion on gender, identity and Islam. It challenges stereotypes and gives a voice to Muslim women whose experiences are often misappropriated or misunderstood.
I would highly recommended this book for any readers interested in feminist theory, social justice and contemporary Muslim identities.
Syra Shakir
- Muslim Women and Misogyny by Samia Rahman, £12.99
