Komal Naqvi on White Privilege and Islamophobia
âIâve always believed that the best way to make change is through political advocacy and I feel that standing up for issues that affect our student body is an amazing place to start. I want to be there for the people I represent.âÂ
Politics and activism are a huge passion in Komal Naqviâs life. As a full-time undergraduate student at Rutgers University, Komal was recently elected as Senator at the Douglass Residential College through Knights for Change. Knights for Change is a student body government organized by Rutgers students. I was lucky enough to discuss her experiences with racial bias, how it affected her mental health and how we can prevent this. Here, I recognize the privileges I was afforded as someone who is white and has received more opportunities, due to my race. Education has failed us. I admit, that I, too, can be very ignorant on these issues and need to further educate myself, regarding history and Middle Eastern studies. In fact, I learned more about history through Komal than I have in any history class I have taken in middle and high school. Hate crimes have increased exponentially. Systemic oppression is prevalent everywhere, and now that our current president is reinforcing IslamophobiaâŚit is crucial that we provide a safe space and educate the public.
So what were your experiences growing up in Pakistan?
Komal: So I actually wasnât born in Pakistan. I grew up in Brooklyn and I moved from NY in 2001. So basically my experiences arenât strong examples of Islamophobia. I know my sister dealt with it a lot more. Like, she would be asked, âOh, are you Osama Bin Ladenâs daughter? Is he your uncle?â Basically, asking her, are you related to the terrorist and things like that. For me, it was very common to not tell people youâre Muslim. They felt like it was a lot easier to avoid anything and not have people ask you questions and go on their merry way. I remember one time, my brother was asked from an older white man, âare you Muslim?â to my brother who is in preschool! Itâs kind of like, why are you asking that? Whatâs your purpose and intent? And it kind of just gives you anxiety already. Iâm not sure if this relates to Islamophobia or just xenophobia in general, but when we were first buying our house, the people we were buying the house from were really nice. They were really working with us because my dad couldnât afford the amount they were asking for. They lowered the amount of the house so we would be able to afford it. Itâs pretty big, itâs a nice area. But my neighborhood is very Catholic and there are many churches in my town and itâs very religious. And they had a meeting. It was a bunch of white old ladies to discuss whether or not we should even be living there. They called this woman and said, âWe donât want you to sell this house to them because we donât want brown people living in our town.â
Wow, I am sorry to hear about that. I also apologize for assuming that you were born and raised in Pakistan. I might have gotten confused with someone else. But, how do you think these experiences have affected your mental health?
Komal: Iâm really anxious living in my town. Even though were located in Central Jersey, my town is very Republican. So growing up, I was always concerned for my black friends. People had blatant, Confederate flags on the back of their pick-up trucks and I didnât really understand. Iâm always concerned for them because it wasnât too long ago where we had a Confederate flag flying in our town hall. When my best friend moved there, thatâs when she told me that her father had asked if they could take it down, otherwise they didnât want to move their family there. It obviously made them feel unsafe. I used to be really scared to go outside. As a person of color, youâre just very aware of everything because you see yourself as the person whoâs being discriminated against, as youâre growing up. Even in class, things that people would say, you could understand that people were mocking you. When I was younger especially, I didnât have the language to talk to these people to say, âHey, what youâre saying is really hurting me. Itâs effecting how I view my own culture.â I remember kids would make fun of Indian culture and then, just blatantly group us all into one category. So, Iâve been made fun of for wearing henna. Growing up in a community like this, you kind of have to take a step back and analyze everything. The way I grew up, I just had to realize things werenât in my favor. There were also opportunities I didnât get because people saw me as the model minority, Smart Asian, quote on quote, âIndian kid,â even though Iâm not IndianâŚit still kind of made me think that there are opportunities that Iâm not getting and why are they so hard to reach? One thing Iâm thinking about right now is Honors Society. Most of my friends were black, from South America. We were all really smart and all of us tried REALLY hard in school. But the kids who were always chosen for Honors Society were the white kids, who were like the teachers favorites. It was so obvious that none of my teachers wanted to give me or my group of friends a letter of recommendation for Honors Society. I was in the top 25, but since our high school was so small only the top 10 were chosen.
So, this leads me to my next question, how would you describe white privilege to someone who isnât familiar with this issue?
Komal: One thing we talk about in a class Iâm taking, called Feminism, Policy & Poor, is that some people arenât going to have the same opportunities or life chances as somebody who is white, just because the system generally favors white people. Itâ s easier for white people to get jobs. Itâs easier for them to get access to opportunities. For example, there are people of color who come into bankruptcy and are unemployed, simply because theyâre colored. As opposed to a while person who is unemployed or coming to bankruptcy because of a financial issue within a company. They lost their home because of their financial decisions. A black person could lose their home because they refused to give them the same extensions as they would a white person. They wouldnât trust them as much. They can be in the same situation for different reasons. Thatâs why there is this disparity. There are white people who struggle the same way as black people do, but not because of their race.
Absolutely. But, how can we make people more aware of this issue?
Komal: Education. We need more workshops in the local level. I really believe in a big government and I think they should take responsibility in having cultural education, cultural advocacy. We need to be supportive in the community and let other people know that other cultures exist. One thing about white people is that as a person of color, this can be very difficult to talk about. White people need to call out other white people. Itâs hard as a person of color to constantly see that youâre systematically oppressed and then call them out on it. It affects your mental health.
So, how are you and your family coping with our current president (even though I should just refer to him as #45 because I refuse to acknowledge him as a President)?
Komal: My parents have gone through different presidents in this country, so theyâre not as concerned. They were concerned about Medicaid. My dad always keeps up with politics, but heâs been through so much shit that he can handle anything that comes his way. Heâs strong. Me and my sister were very distraught and effected. I took a couple of days off from class because I was crying. I had to watch political satire shows just to find humor in this situation. My personal belief is that if you want to fight something, do it politically, which is why my major is Political science and Women & Gender studies. I feel like local and state politics are very important. No matter what happens on the federal level, as long as our state is strong. I want to find an internship that deals with state work and local districts because I feel like thatâs very important. We have to take it one step at a time. My brother, Sean is like a little firecracker. Heâs 13. I remember when I first started telling him not to tell people he was Muslim. I knew that when I was growing up I didnât have that kind of language so how was he going to know? The thing is, he has that language and I think itâs because my sister and I have that influence on him. Heâll talk to kids about being Muslim and educate them. Iâm a little anxious because kids are very mean and they regurgitate everything. Little kids are really influenced by their parents. One girl told my brotherâs friend that he was going to have to leave the country because he was Mexican. Their parents donât care. My brother is learning not to internalize things. I did when I was a kid.
Well, I feel like that has to do with gender roles too. Females are more likely to internalize and ruminate over our emotions and men tend to distract themselves. This is just how society has been for so long. What kind of advice would you give someone who is currently facing oppression and Islamophobia?
Komal: I would find a community. Find a place to talk about what has happened to you with people who are similar to you. You need solidarity, no matter what level it is. If itâs with your family, or other Muslims in the community or people of color, you need to find other people you can trust and talk to about. Even that small aspect of organizing, I feel like you can take it to a lot of places. You donât always have to be political but you can organize a club, if you want. I know people in different high schools who have had a social education class. You canât just be ignorant. Most of the things people say stem from people not knowing or not understanding, and that results in fear.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Komal: My dream goal would be to run for something, whether itâs Board of Education or working for non-profit organizations. I want to work for Grass Roots Activist Work. Thatâs what Iâm really passionate about because I feel like we can accomplish a lot on the state level. One of my passions is domestic violence work in the South Asian community.
What are some of the stigmas that people have about the Middle East?
Komal: So Pakistan actually isnât part of the Middle East. Itâs part of South Asia. We used to be one country with India. The construction of the Middle East is very western. I donât call it the Middle East. I call it Arab States or Gulf States. But, yeah Iâm south Asian because I have south Asian cultures and practices. And then Afghanistan onto the west is considered the Middle East.
Okay, so thatâs a stigma right there, how I assumed Pakistan to be part of the Middle East!
Komal: A lot of people say that just because itâs an Islamic- Republic. Iâm Shiam-Muslim and I face A LOT of oppression. Shiaâs are 20% of the Muslim population and Sunniâs are 80%. In Pakistan, weâre seen as not being Muslim, even though our belief system follows the prophet-Mohammedâs family. Basically, what the Taliban target are Shiaâs. We have very limited political leadership in Pakistan as well. My personal experiences have more to do with living in America. What people expect with living in Pakistan is that itâs all impoverished, itâs in ruins, thereâs no education for women, but thatâs just a stereotype, honestly. Like my mom has a Bachelorâs in Education. My dad has a Mechanical Engineering bachelorâs and he got a Masterâs in International Relations. To think of Pakistan as an impoverished country is something that the Westerners have made it out to be.
So before you get offended the next time someone tells you to âcheck your privilege,â think of the racial remarks and stereotypes that persist. Put your own beliefs to the side for a moment and empathize with those, like Komal and her siblings, who have been victims of racial inequality. Next time you hear a racial slur or joke, I encourage you to take advantage of your privilege and raise your voice to shed light on this topic. Even though it may not be affecting you specifically, it can be detrimental to someone who faces this bias on a consistent basis. Creating a safe space and empathizing with those who are less fortunate than us is extremely important.
 If youâre interested in learning more about privilege, I highly recommend taking this Buzzfeed quiz here.Â
