A recent article published by British Vogue was called out for glamourising the work of those working in counter terrorism, the article titled  “The Women At The Forefront Of The Fight Against Extremism”.

https://twitter.com/ShereenFDZ/status/1184400354131271680

The article published on the 12th of October was also timely as the conversation around the governments approach to counter-terrorism intensifies.

The article features Yasmin Green, Nikita Malik and Sara Khan presenting them as women who are keeping the UK safe. The article has received some backlash from the Muslim community, with Shereen Fernandez outlining why the article glamourises counter-terrorism work and initiatives that have divided communities. In the article Sara Khan states:

“If we empower women to challenge extremism, you will see a shift in our society. Women are the backbone. They can see if their children are being radicalised, they are often the first to see there’s something wrong,”

Fernandez raises that:

“The article ends with this same old problematic trope about women; they are more able to spot radicalisation because they are mothers. This doesn’t empower women. Instead it places unnecessary burdens on them, especially Muslim women.”

Below are a thread of tweets from Fernandez and others in the Muslim community.

https://twitter.com/ShereenFDZ/status/1184400362469498880

https://twitter.com/ShereenFDZ/status/1184400378152017920

Thank you for this thread Shereen. I felt so uncomfortable when I saw this piece, &it’s not the first time Vogue has done a ‘glamour-counter extremism’ piece. It’s astounding how uncritical these articles can be, &how dehumanising, I’d venture to say, even of those they profile

— Khadijah Elshayyal (@DrKElshayyal) October 16, 2019

These kinds of daft colonial images and hopes are very much standard fare in the development industry. Not going away. Sadly. But we shouldn't expect anything else from vogue.

— GreenHoopoe (@Fugstarnagar) October 17, 2019

https://twitter.com/katie_wash/status/1184424134215962624

Thanks for highlighting this. Incredibly cringe worthy in terms of the visuals but especially the content. Written totally without context to the issues. Notice also how it is always non-Muslim Vogue writers, as if there aren't any Muslim writers out there…

— Dr Fauzia Ahmad (@brisofa) October 16, 2019

https://twitter.com/karachiiite/status/1184765346361819137

https://twitter.com/huwinslow/status/1184417741605933059

https://twitter.com/karachiiite/status/1184446836158939137?s=20

Hi @BritishVogue & @GilesHattersley, really interested to know how & why you chose these personalities to feature & why this topic. Why is there no mention of how the CVE industry has criminalized & stigmatized #Muslim communities? https://t.co/JODN95VuvL

— Mobashra (@mobbiemobes) October 16, 2019

https://twitter.com/SFKassim/status/1184456068673540096?s=20

https://twitter.com/Cockneystani/status/1184420308373127169