In We Have Always Been Here, Samra Habib relays a perceptive account of her turbulent childhood in Pakistan, her family’s emigration to Canada as refugees, and life as a spokesperson for queer Muslims.
Growing up in Pakistan, Habib is firmly situated in the stabilizing, yet strictly controlled, world of her mother and female relatives-safety which proves to be an artifice after a neighbor sexually abuses her. This trauma made her aware that women in Pakistan were vulnerable and marginalized, with very few alternatives at their disposal. Habib writes, “I’d only ever been surrounded by women who didn’t have the blueprint for claiming their lives” (2).
We Have Always Been Here Samra Habib No preview available - 2019. About the author (2019) SAMRA HABIB is a writer, photographer, and activist. As a journalist she's covered topics ranging from fashion trends and Muslim dating apps to the rise of Islamophobia in the US. In We Have Always Been Here, Samra Habib relays a perceptive account of her turbulent childhood in Pakistan, her family’s emigration to Canada as refugees, and life as a spokesperson for queer Muslims. Triumphant and uplifting - a queer Muslim memoir about forgiveness and freedom. 'Revolutionary' Mona Eltahawy. 'Exquisite, powerful and urgent' Stacey May Fowles. 'I fell in love with this book' Shani Mootoo A memoir of hope, faith and love, Samra Habib's story starts with growing up as part of a threatened minority sect in Pakistan, and follows her arrival in Canada as a refugee, before.
Praise for We Have Always Been Here: “We Have Always Been Here challenges so many received wisdoms on gender, faith and sexuality that its very existence in the world is cause for celebration.” —The Globe and Mail “Habib writes through a lens of compassion, hope, and ever-widening circles of understanding.” —Quill and Quire. We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir Audible Audiobook – Unabridged Samra Habib (Author), Parmida Vand (Narrator), Viking (Publisher) 4.5 out of 5 stars 187 ratings See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions.
Due to Islamic sectarian violence, Habib’s family flees Pakistan for Canada, and while the move brings physical security, they must now deal with culture shock and incidents of xenophobia. Shortly after, at the age of 16, Habib discovers she is expected to enter an arranged marriage with her cousin. Disturbed by this fate but without recourse, Habib complies with her parents’ wishes:
I was destined for a life of servitude, just like Nasir’s mother, my mother and my mother’s mother, who all muted their ambitions and defining traits to be pious sisters, getting lost in a sea of burka-clad wives. (62)
Throughout the narrative, the bombardment of religious and cultural expectations from Habib’s parents never lets up, and even as she describes a world where “every move was carefully inspected for any trace of sin,” it only serves to make her more determined to define her own destiny (67). Free-thinking friends provide the necessary support and leverage she needs to finally escape. She writes:
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I’d been taught that women weren’t supposed to speak their minds . . . [but] as a woman in this world it’s important to take up space and make yourself heard, even if it intimidates and offends. (123)
Samra Habib We Have Always Been Here
In a period of life she characterizes as “my crash course on a life I’d missed,” Habib begins to experiment with open and queer relationships, begins a writing career at a magazine, and joins a queer-friendly mosque. She shares the inspiration behind an ongoing photojournalism project documenting the lives of queer Muslims, which she hopes will “create a platform where queer Muslims could be their authentic selves” (176).
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We Have Always Been Here deftly conveys the conflicted path that exists for anyone trying to reconcile religious and cultural expectations with their sexual identity, a trajectory that for Habib, will continue to evolve.