Can you tell us a bit about your career?
I am a Lecturer in Human Geography and I decided to study geography from my first year of university studies, after a high school degree in hard sciences (mainly Physics and Chemistry). I chose geography somewhat by accident, although I have always been interested in issues of social and spatial justice. I had the opportunity to research the geographies of inequality and discrimination using mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative). The fight against injustices – whatever they may be – has always inspired me because I could see them directly with my own eyes. Coming from working-class neighbourhoods where most residents are from postcolonial immigration, I was very quickly sensitive to the spatial marginalization of ethnic and religious minority groups. As a Muslim woman of colour who grew up and studied in France, these research topics have often been challenging to address.
Do you have any areas of expertise?
My area of expertise focuses on Islamophobia and its spatialization, but I explore more broadly issues of urban segregation, racism, sexism, and austerity. My research contribution demonstrates how Islamophobia is a spatialized process that projects a reality from the global scale to the local scale. This process ‘glocalizes’ global racism by impacting the everyday lives of local Muslims living in a specific context. Having contributed to the special issue on ‘Geographies of Islamophobia’ and written a book on ‘Spatialized Islamophobia’, I was able to highlight the importance of integrating ‘Space’ into Islamophobia Studies as well as ‘Islamophobia’ into Geography. The spatial dimension of Islamophobia has been relatively neglected in studies of anti-Muslim racism. I have mainly detailed three levels of scale: i) global and national Islamophobia; ii) urban and infra-urban Islamophobia; iii) embodied and emotional Islamophobia. Thus, my ambition is to develop research whose impact will bring real change for the people who need it most and for their living spaces.
Do you have any advice to share?
My advice to anyone studying or working in STEMM is to be authentic. Do not be afraid of who you are and what you can bring to the world. No one can stop you from working, although I know that women sometimes have to work harder to get certain opportunities. For most of us, just having such a trajectory is in itself a huge accomplishment. But we need to continue to reverse the stigma: the more we are told we cannot do something, the more we will know that we have to do it (for more representation, empowerment, hope, etc.). The unequal treatment of female academics is a serious problem that needs to be tackled, since it can have significant consequences for the functioning of the entire academic world.
Find out more about Kawtar here.