Migration and belonging: Brown muslim women's experience in Australia

Australia has a small population of Muslim migrants compared to Western Europe and North America. Over the last few years, Muslims have become a fifth column or pariahs, therefore migration debates largely revolve around their experiences as homogeneous, and remain focused on issues of identity, integration, sense of belonging to Australia, hijab, and Jihad, the last especially after numerous incidents linked with potential acts of terrorism. Muslim women have become symbols of religious authenticity by wearing hijab or symbols of religious oppression by denouncing religion or highlighting their oppressive experiences and sexuality. In between are located the brown Muslim women of the South Asian diaspora, who remain insignificant, largely because their public presence is overlooked since they are neither "exotic" nor "erotic" like their counterparts from the Middle East or the Horn of Africa. This paper looks at these brown Muslim women's experiences of migration and belonging in Australia and how they negotiate their place both at home and in public space. This paper relies on numerous formal and informal discussions with these women and explores their experiences largely ignored by mainstream debates.