As usual, this post is primarily addressed to Western liberal feminists. I have noticed that one of your favorite lines that you smugly try and pass for discourse is “stay in your lane.” Men somewhere in the world are oppressing women somewhere in the world and when another person starts to criticize, you try to silence her with this “lane” nonsense.

Here’s the thing: Sexism and patriarchy don’t have a lane. They don’t have a culture. They are part of every culture, every place, and every system worldwide.

My oppression as a woman in Iraq has the same material problem as oppression of women in the United States, France, Argentina, China, Uganda, any society on this earth: male violence. The root of our problems is the same root and we will not solve any of these problems without pulling up that root.

You act like you’re some kind of progressive by silencing other Western women who talk about other cultures’ issues, but really you’re denying that all of our issues are rooted in the same oppression, and that is Western exceptionalism. You’re saying that your issues are worth public criticism but ours must be framed in ways that appeal to your moral senses or they should be silenced.

Global patriarchy is every woman’s “lane” because it’s literally global. I am allowed to criticize male violence anywhere in the world because I see a different manifestation of the same problems in my own life.

Sexism doesn’t have a culture. (Nor does racism, classism, homophobia, etc.) It exists in every culture in the world. For this reason, we cannot equate criticisms of sexism to criticisms of cultures because criticizing sexism criticizes every culture. (Or one global culture that we all share.) If you honestly believe that sexism is definitely wrong (which I do) then why are you silencing criticism of sexism?

Ask yourselves: Why are you so afraid of offending somebody’s “culture” by criticizing patriarchy? There can really only be one reason. Your feminism just appeals to men.

If our cultures can’t stand on their own without sexism, then what even are they? I love my culture. I love speaking Arabic and Assyrian. I love our folk music. I love our political novels and films. And I could still love all of this without sexism in our culture. Culture doesn’t exist in a snow globe. It is meant to change.

So are you actually going to let people defend sexism with “it’s our culture”? It’s everyone’s culture! And if we recognize that it’s wrong, we should criticize it! Just like we should criticize racism, classism, and homophobia wherever we find them. If you prioritize “protecting culture” over criticizing sexism, then you prioritize the feelings of men over the actual lives of women. And you aren’t a feminist.

I know I talk about listening to Middle Eastern women too, and I stand by that. You can and should listen to our stories, our thoughts, and our criticisms. And you can and should amplify our voices and offer your own criticisms of sexism, because sexism affects you too.

Issues with more attention usually get more support. People can’t support women in developing countries if they don’t know our struggles, and we cannot spread awareness if other women who discuss these issues are silenced. Western voices and media outlets have the most influence worldwide, so why are you stopping people from using them?

There is a difference between talking over someone and empathizing with her experience and offering meaningful criticisms. Talking over someone is a silencing tactic because you’re telling a woman not to talk about her lived experiences because you must know better. Listening to us, having a dialogue, and criticizing sexism together is productive and it’s the exact opposite of silencing. Stop trying to conflate the two.

You have an extremely low opinion of women from developing countries if you believe that criticizing how sexism manifests in our cultures is patronizing us. Do you think we don’t know what sexism is? Do you think we don’t also have indigenous feminist movements? Do you think we haven’t been trying to bring attention to these issues?

It’s true that sometimes Westerners use sexism and homophobia in places like the Middle East as justifications for their own bigotry against Middle Eastern people. Again, if you honestly believe that racism, xenophobia, or imperialism are wrong, then you don’t need to dance around cultural sensitivities to make your point. The thing about inalienable human rights is that you don’t have to earn them.

Half of people in developing countries are women and you can advocate for our liberation in all countries of the world at the same time. Wow! There’s a massive difference between acknowledging how sexism manifests in some cultures and saying we’re savages who should be confined to dangerous war zones.

Stop dividing women. We are in this together. Sexism is wrong in every context and every culture and we are allowed to criticize it wherever and whenever we find it.