MsYiY - Yasmin Choudhury

(I provided a separate edited extract to British newspaper Independent on Monday 23 November) - here ,  Me With My Muslim British Bangladesh family on Umra Hajj - part of my religious induction I just read Labour Party’s Mayor of London candidate Sadiq Khan’s astonishingly, accurate but highly expedient speech on how nearly 2.7 million of British Muslims have a ‘special role to play in combatting radicalisation as well as of course societal integration. I read it. And then pondered sadly.  Why? First, the biggest threat to our society is in fact Islamaphobia.  Next, all my tears are spent having tried to tackle communities like mine who refuse to progress and expel bad ideology. With no avail. I also smiled, as I don’t think Mr Khan’s campaign office has informed him of the countless many times that I, as a ‘new to Labour’ and ‘new to politics grassroots woman’ have tried to contact his office to discuss this matter of stamping out bad ideology. Not to...

Seriously the idea of doing business in a niqab is getting quite attractive to me. Friday afternoon. And this is my Xmas list. - 2015  Tongue in cheek, as well as I hope weirdly inspiring? I will let you judge. After all if John Lewis can do it - so can I. Start the Xmas banter/debate early that is - and the shenanigans and tomfoolery. So here goes.  Things I really do not want... and all delivered to me in time for Xmas.  I repeat.  Items on my Xmas List I do not want to see again.  NO. I DON'T.  And as you can see I am fair to both genders. I am simply calling out experiences with both men and women  that I loathe - so here goes things I do not want to see happening in 2016.

Moved by Aylan Kurdi? So was I. So let's get together good people.  Ignore our Governments. Bypass them to go and help the grassroots way.  So much op-eds/articles out there right now.  Blah, blah, blah.  If you are like me you don't want to read or hear about refugees anymore.  You want to DO.  It is hard to know how to help. So this is what my latest post is about. Grassroots activism. Collating links to charities and folks at grassroots struggling to get voice as often are drowned out by the bigger charities (who let us face it have overheads and budgets to spend on PR and marketing).  I want this post to support ordinary people who are stepping up to help.  As well as thinking about all the options out there you can take to help.  (Photo shows march in London being planned by Stop The War).

My cheeky open letter to PM David Cameron ahead of his Keynote speech on extremist ideology and my reply to the Guardian article written by Francis Perraudin here Hi Mr PM Life is tough eh. I should know.  I am a British Muslim woman. Born in London too. While the sun was sunny there's you and I locking horns with the devil. Different ones of course - but still - toughies. I do welcome much of this stance from you our PM albeit some of it is also worrying. Maybe the No 10 board table missed some polish and the writing of your advisors was hidden by dirt? I know it happens to my laptop.  I know all about grime you see  :)

‪#‎ honour‬  abuse  ‪#‎ misogyny‬   ‪#‎ sylhet‬   ‪#‎ bangladesh‬   ‪#‎ letter‬ My rally call today to all Muslims & Brits - as part of Eid Mubarek is to say enough is enough - let's kick out evil patriarchy & oppression once and for all please? ‪#‎ equalityforall‬ (Now - for a series of open Choudhury letters from me. One of many to my British Bangladesh London based Muslim family who are utterly UnIslamic). Open Letter From An Aunt To The Next Generation Imtiaz Choudhury (20, nephew Brunel University), Nadia Choudhury (19 niece Graveney School), Mikhail Choudhury (16 nephew at Harris Academy, Mitcham). As I have been kicked out and expelled/ostracised by my #British & #Bangladesh family and community - I wrote via iPhone on low battery. Hence excuse typos or grammar errors. Also I may have your ages wrong as being your aunt. That is not my fault.  You will recall that I was cut off by your parents Nazmin Choudhury and Enamul Haque...

Welcome to the Choudhury family - direct family members of mine who have worked together to bully and destroy my research base in Bangladesh. Both in the village of Ali Nagor in Beani Bazaar and in the District City of Sylhet in Amberkhana. Women like me are not welcomed by my family.  We are subjugated.  And such was their collective horror at finding I had set up a British charity and using a room on my late father's estate -  without first asking the permission of my elders and the men - my entire base was smashed and looted. You see men must rule even when my father has died - that's what they taught me. It's this type of thinking that I plan to destroy.

This is my story of British domestic honour based violence now gone international.  I am Yasmin Choudhury.   I am a social entrepreneur.  I live in London and am British.  I am  the founder of Lovedesh ( social business/enterprise) and  Amcariza Foundation ,  a British charity. The former is launching the #LTTTW campaign    which will showcase my heritage nation of Bangladesh and other nations in August 2015 at a top prestigious venue in London.  Both are designed to make the rest of the world fall in love with 'Third World' nations and to buy from the artisans out there - so that more pennies can be put into the pockets of local people. 

WHY I HAVE LAUNCHED THE AMC PETITION. Please, please to sign The AMC Petition CLICK HERE. “When I am not working on Lovedesh the social enterprise, or Amcariza Foundation which I set up to help folks in developing world, I am also passionate about supporting abused and underprivileged Muslim women.   "I am a British woman. Of Bangladeshi heritage.  Help me stop abuse, financial control? Instead let us all work to get Muslim women financially independent.    "The closed community I grew up in within UK and later visited in Bangladesh, kept me ignorant of all the good stuff Holy Qu'ran and Islam does for women. Like the way a woman can earn, create and then have her private wealth protected.  I had no idea.  THE AMC Petition - showing income/allowances/alms for women in the Qu'ran

Today is World Hijab Day (WHD).  Sigh.   And I whole-heartedly and unreservedly disagree with the idea, the concept, its message and strategy.   Like the WJD founder I am Muslim.  I too am of Bangladeshi heritage.  That is where the difference ends.   But I am British. Was born in London.  And I have never worn hijab unless the occasion merits it.  Many of the women in my British community and especially women in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh do. Yet growing up I recall how hardly anyone covered their hair.  I find it interesting.  Because I am not sure the reason is in always about empowerment.  Today, in 2015 nearly all the Muslim women in my community both in UK and Bangladesh wear the hijab with a black overcoat or the niqab.  And it is starting to really worry me. Sigh. Not the wearing of course - which I utterly support.   It is the why, the how, the when and the who. And how by wearing it - perhaps other ...

I love Islam.  Sadly its community  - 'Ummah'  - is a double edged coin for many Muslim women like me.  I find some British Muslim men utterly clueless.  Or are guilty of acting careless when they try to speak for all us UK Muslims. It is dangerous. And a repeated gesture that soon becomes a consensus.  Non-Muslims start to think they represent all of us.  When in fact - Muslims have no formal,  elected  representative. Yes - that includes the Muslim Council of Britain - male led for Muslim men - by Muslim men - all about Muslim men. 

Happy New Year to all my connections. From my old to the new connections. Who showed me love, support, mentored me and told me never to give up. For all the bad times? Am also grateful. Here is a glass to those few businessmen who were awful, horrible, sexist pigs. Who refused to listen or empathise - so hysterical were you to pursue the path of money, money, money. 

Originally published in Linked In - I forgot to add it here.  Duh. A post I wrote about my British Muslim Xmas in December 2014. Read it here  on Pulse - for LinkedIn. Or if you prefer.  See below. Season's greetings. I wanted to share one of my secrets. Today I am proud to be a Muslim (something I always struggled with having spent so much time as a lapsed member). But come this time of year, I am immediately giddy with excitement. I love Xmas. So there.