White Man’s burden- Reduced: Muslim Women Reclaiming their agency

Oh, to be a damsel in distress waiting to be saved by a white man. This is what I believe the White man's savior complex looks like. Kipling's 'White man' s burden' has taken many shapes and forms, and of late, white women have also joined the league. Spivak coined the expression 'white man saving brown women from brown men' in her essay 'Can the Subaltern Speak?'. To this, recent events demand the addition, of white men and women saving brown women from brown men. This savior complex does not resolve but adds to the problems of a brown woman.
Presenting this pressing problem, Spivak calls out for the place of Subaltern in the world. Subaltern is a marginalized woman who cannot speak for herself. She is oppressed yet cannot break free from it or oppose it. And so, to her rescue come to the white feminists attempting to save her from the shackles of the brown society.
One such example can be seen in Young's reference to colonial India. While colonizers attempted to 'civilize' the masses, and liberate the women, they tried abolishing the practice of 'sati', widow burning (5). Undoubtedly, the practice appears to be cruel and inhumane, Spivak argues that it is the choice of the widow. To this, they counter-argue that the widow has been brainwashed and cannot make a rational decision. This is the same logic they present when they label the veil as oppression.
The white man's savior complex is a facade. Under its guise, it is their fascination with the brown skin, the exotic brown woman. It is visible through their tropes in literature such as a comic G. I. Combat features the story of a Muslim Princess named Azeela, who was saved by an American G. I. from her oppressive father (Dar 106). He also falls in love with her. The brown woman is a damsel in distress and requires a white man to liberate her. Here is a question. When a white man saves a brown woman from a brown man, who then, saves the brown woman from the white man?
Women have been saving themselves for a long time. This is shown in postcolonial studies. For instance, Young's interpretation of postcolonial India shows how women have played not only a critical role in Indian independence but also in other serious issues such as protecting their forests. After the colonial rule was over, women still had to overcome the discrimination and marginalized treatment they faced every day (10). Despite Gandhi's claim that he sees himself as a mother, a nurturing female, he fails to realize this discrimination.
This narrative is also countered by Egyptian artist, Deena Mohamad, who created a superhero: Qahera. Qahera represents a strong Muslim woman who chooses to wear a burqa and hates the narratives of oppression. She resists both the fundamentalist and liberal positions occupying a space in the middle of the two. In that way, she is attempting to break the stereotypical concepts of weak and oppressed Muslim women.
Muslim women do not need saving from white men or white women. Indeed, there is oppression in society that causes many problems for them. However, the unsolicited attempts of the white people to save the brown woman create more problems for her to tackle. Stronger female characters are not only present in literature but also throughout history. Thus, if white feminists cannot offer solidarity in their struggle, they must not try to impose their own interpretations either.