When gender turns right: racializing Islam and femonationalism in online political discourses in Belgium

In Flanders-Belgium, a Belgo-Iranian politician has gained nation-wide attention for her critique of Islam. Safai's political discourses are built around her opposition to the violation of women's rights in Iran, and to the hijab as a political-patriarchal symbol. Through this latter opposition, she has gained prominence among Flemish nationalists. The emphasis in Safai's discourses has been on using Iranian gender politics to frame her antagonism to Islam as opposed to a patriarchal political ideology and the supposed progressive elite who threaten the secular order. Sparking fear of political Islam–in her words, ‘you should be more scared'1–and gender as her subject matter has gained Safai acceptance not only among some Belgian and Flemish, but also among some Iranian nationalists. This paper investigates Safai's gender activism and femonationalism featured in online media to show how emancipatory gender discourses are employed in the service of right-wing agendas.