Somali-born Bilan has spent most of her life in the East End. Having written her dissertation on Racism and the Police, she now works as a teacher. Here Bilan speaks to Trespass about the excitement of choosing when to hide and reveal her body, how to avoid a Somalian ‘freshie’ and why her community think British Muslim women are
‘going crazy’.
The Somali community (in London) isn’t very much in the public eye, whereas the Middle East is receiving constant press attention. Do you feel it’s easy for people to look at you, as a woman in a hijab, and assume you’re from Iraq or Afghanistan?
It’s insane but I think people do. Somalians can look more Arab than African, we have Arabic heritage. But if people are set on thinking negatively, they won’t care whether the woman in front of them is African or Asian—they just think ‘They’re all Muslims’.
People have read about the Taliban regime, the bans on high-heels, on driving, what is your response to people who believe covering up in public must be a sign of female repression?
Actually, I can understand this preconception. I was born into a Muslim family and I still thought wearing the hijab was repressive before I talked to women who wore it themselves. Now I wear it, out of choice, and I can feel that it’s another form of expression.
So for you it’s empowering.
Yes, it gives me power as a woman to show myself when I choose. (a pause) And, you know, I think it’s boring to dress up all the time! (laughing) When you don’t always dress up you look forward to that moment—when you can be as provocative as you
like.
You mean, at all-woman events?
Our parties. We kick the men out of the house, turn on the music and dance. Southern Somalian is the most sexy; you really shake your bum. All the skinny girls sit in the
about Somali women becoming more educated and independent. Women are more picky in
the UK. We’ll stand up to our men. There’s a joke about a woman going into a Somali—
what’s it called? Where they sell bed stuff—and the assistant immediately shows her to the single sheets. When asked why, he says, ‘Don’t all you English girls kick out your men?’ I know men that were born and raised in the East End that have gone to Somalia to find themselves a ‘safe’ wife.
And do you want a ‘safe’ husband?
(Laughing) Women don’t want a traditional man straight from Somalia. We call them
‘freshies’. Girls think they’ll come out with all the old sayings, ‘You’re as beautiful as a female camel.’
How does the community feel about your men bringing back brides from Somalia?
There’s a real problem with married men going back and taking another wife. Men in Muslim culture can have up to four wives. One woman I know—her husband said he was going back home to build her a house. She kept sending money over to him—it turned out she was paying for his wedding to another woman! Can you imagine! If my husband Mohammed took another wife I would never have taken him back.
You seem to be saying that the Somali women’s community has a real sense of
identity and fun, yet there’s a problem with men accepting that.
Our strength is something that has come a bit too soon for the men. So they go get the typical Somali girl, but when they bring her back to London they find out she’s not so typical as they thought!
If the Somali community doesn’t spend much time in the public eye, the Somali women’s community is even more invisible. How can this be true, when you’re
such a strong and supportive group?
People shouldn’t think strength is about appearance. You were asking about parties? Of course they’re fun, but this isn’t freedom. While you (Trespass) were taking photos of my cousins and my sister, you couldn’t understand but my aunt was telling them, ‘Now every-one in the country will see these beautiful pictures of my daughters! Soon you’ll all get husbands!’ But my cousins and my sister don’t care. They are British-Somali women. It’s a different world here. We’re independent women, whether people can see this or not. As our religious leaders might say—in Britain, Somali women can ‘go crazy’!--
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