Activist and author Yassmin Abdel-Magied has claimed her efforts to be a model Muslim failed because of systemic racism.
She said although she is grateful for the opportunities she has had since arriving in Australia as a one-year-old she is a victim of ‘brown poppy syndrome’.
The criticism she received after a clash on Q&A and a controversial Anzac Day Facebook post made her decide to stop trying to prove herself, she said.
Activist and author Yassmin Abdel-Magied (pictured) has claimed her efforts to be a model Muslim failed because of systemic racism
Ms Abdel-Magied (pictured) said although she is grateful for the opportunities she has had since arriving in Australia as a one-year-old she is a victim of ‘brown poppy syndrome’
Now she is ‘no longer interested in centering those who refuse to see my humanity,’ she wrote in Teen Vogue.
‘As people of color have systematically been treated as second-class citizens, they are considered “conditionally Australian”,’ she wrote.
‘The moment they step out of line, the country explodes with outrage.’
In the opinion piece she references the White Australia Policy, the historical treatment of indigenous Australians, calling them ‘First Nations people’.
The criticism she received after a clash on Q&A and a controversial Anzac Day Facebook post made her decide to stop trying to prove herself, she said (pictured is Ms Abdel-Magied)
She said she was ‘made an example of’ and ‘none of the positive work that I did over the past 10 years mattered’.
The Muslim activist wrote a memoir at the age of 25 detailing her experiences as a Sudanese-Australian.
She became Young Australian of the Year, hosted a TV show and made a documentary, graduated top of her class, and advised the Federal Government.
But despite her achievements, and working as a mechanical engineer on oil rigs, she says she was still not taken seriously.
Despite deleting the Facebook post Ms Abdel-Magied was slammed after she wrote ‘Lest we forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)’ on Anzac Day (pictured)
‘As people of color have systematically been treated as second-class citizens, they are considered “conditionally Australian”,’ she wrote (pictured is Ms Abdel-Magied)
Ms Abdel-Magied was heavily criticised for several incidents, including the Facebook post and a claim that Islam is ‘the most feminist religion’.
She also provoked outrage by defending Sharia law, saying Australia’s House of Representives ‘does not represent anyone’.
A taxpayer-funded $12,000 tour of the Middle East also came under the microscope due to her failure to raise questions about the treatment of women in the countries she visited.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Ms Abdel-Magied’s (pictured) comment was a ‘disgrace,’ and accused her of making ‘political mileage’
Despite deleting the Facebook post Ms Abdel-Magied was slammed after she wrote ‘Lest we forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)’ on Anzac Day.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and 2GB host Alan Jones joined a chorus of politicians calling for her to be either sacked from her ABC role or reprimanded.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Ms Abdel-Magied’s comment was a ‘disgrace,’ and accused her of making ‘political mileage’.
The response to the Anzac Day post left her feeling ‘betrayed by Australia’ and she has since moved to the UK.
The response to the Anzac Day post left her feeling ‘betrayed by Australia’ and she has since moved to the UK (pictured is Ms Abdel-Magied)