Beyond binaries: Negotiating the diasporic "queer Muslim woman" in the memoirs of Samra Habib and Lamya H.

Abstract

This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the intersections of migration and queerness by investigating how queer Muslim women from Pakistan negotiate with religion, queer desire, and belonging in transnational spaces. Two memoirs by queer Muslim women-We Have Always Been Here (2019) by Samra Habib and Hijab Butch Blues (2023) by Lamya H.-not only map their authors' journeys across geographical borders but also trace the realization, exploration, and assertion of their queer identities. By engaging with these two texts, this paper analyzes Samra and Lamya's journeys, as they try to exercise and make sense of their agency (or lack thereof) with respect to their cultural and geographical displacement. This analysis highlights how the position of queer Muslim women in the diaspora both enables and challenges queerness. In addition, this analysis underscores subjective approaches to reconciling religion with queerness and emphasizes the significance of such life narratives for fostering intersectional polylogues on sexuality, religion, and migration. Consequently, this paper contributes to the project of Queer Worldmaking by showing how queer Muslim women create communities, support networks, and exhibit resilience by challenging conventional hierarchies to develop viable life possibilities for themselves in Canada and the United States.