Controversial Somali-Dutch author Ayaan Hirsi Ali will address a multicultural double standard that exists in developed countries when she speaks at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday.

"The white man is held to a moral standard that, in the West, men [who have immigrated] from other cultures are not held to," she told the Herald. ''If a white man sold his daughter into marriage, most people would be appalled and there'd be an outrage in any national context in any country in the West. But when it's a man from Pakistan or Somalia or Yemen or India, then what you see is this: 'Oh yes, but …'"

Controversial author: Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Credit:Steven Siewert

The outspoken author of novels Infidel and Nomad (pictured) is known for her critical views of Islam and cultural practices like honour violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation. She will argue that women need to be protected from these practices even when they are justified by religious or cultural arguments.

"We have a religion [Islam] that dictates exactly what the position of the woman is; it is at home, it's with the children. She needs to cover her body to stop men from getting excited and aroused. Are they fair? Or are they outdated and unjust? I want to argue they are outdated and they are unjust."