Decolonisation in British Muslim Women’s Writing

Decolonisation in British Muslim Women’s Writing: The Ontology of The Postcolonial Flâneuse introduces the figure of the postcolonial flâneuse through five distinct modes of postcolonial flâneuserie: Activist, Dervish, Cyber, COVID-19 Pandemic, and Punk postcolonial flâneuse.

Bringing together postcolonial theory, urban studies, and contemporary British Muslim women’s writing, the author examines how Muslim women writers reconfigure the relationship between gender, movement, spectatorship, and the city from a decolonising perspective. Expanding beyond dominant formulations of the flâneur, postcolonial flâneur, and flâneuse, the study foregrounds marginalised voices and experiences often excluded from discussions of urban modernity and literary mobility.

Through close textual analysis’ and interviews, this monograph explores the relationship and experiences between the postcolonial flâneuse and Muslim women in cities and crowds, and how this literary figure becomes an integral part of re-reading the city with a decolonising point of view. It positions the postcolonial flâneuse as a critical figure for re-reading the city through lived experiences of race, gender, faith, and displacement.