Islamic scholar attacks stereotype-swapping Bodyguard
The hit TV show Bodyguard has been criticised by an Islamic feminist scholar for its “stereotyping” of Muslim women.
Ziba Mir-Hosseini said the character of Nadia, who was stopped from detonating a suicide vest in the first episode, was initially portrayed as a weak woman oppressed by her husband.
By the series finale the character was revealed as a skilled engineer and jihadist.
Dr Mir-Hosseini, an Iranian-born legal anthropologist, said she found writer Jed Mercurio’s plot “really puzzling”.
She said: “Why we had to make this woman Nadia, who is so timid and everything, which was a stereotype of Muslim women, and then suddenly she became a stereotype of another Muslim woman, one that is a jihadist.
“That was really puzzling for me. Why a film like this has to do that. It actually says a lot to us about how the image of Muslims are made and projected.”
The show was watched by more than 10 million people by the final episode, and starred Scottish actor Richard Madden. Dr Mir-Hosseini, speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, said shows like Bodyguard do not help Muslim feminists.
She said: “Islamic feminists face a lot of resistance, especially in Muslim majority countries. When you argue for equality in the family, men feel threatened and it is like the whole of society is going to collapse.”