When right wing woman Phyllis Schlafly was alive, this was her most obnoxious feature: she essentially lived the life that feminists supported, while spitting on feminists.

Phyllis Schlafly- and I don't begrudge her this- was an ambitious and ball-busting woman. She was done with cooking and cleaning, and wiping children's bums. While she insisted to the public that she would never have pursued a career without her husband's permission, I should imagine her husband didn't dare say no. People like Schlafly are very good at making your life miserable if you try to restrain them. Again, I don't begrudge them that.

The truth was, Phyllis Schlafly simply loved seeing her name in print. She loved jet setting all over the country to give talks, she loved seeing her face on television, she loved signing books.

But she didn't want to be ostracized from the Christian conservative community, so she centered her career around sabotaging other women's ambitions. That way, she convinced enough male Christian conservative thought leaders of the time to give her a pass for what they wouldn't have tolerated.

Bushra Shaikh is an example of a Muslim leftist who does the same thing. She does not wear a hijab, to prove that it's totally a choicy-choice. She wears upscale Western clothing, loves being on television, enjoys her independence since she got divorced, and clearly can't pass a mirror. She loves her some selfies. I wouldn't begrudge her any of that, so don't claim that I am.

But like Phyllis Schlafly, she doesn't want to be accused of leaving her Muslim community behind, so now she spreads propaganda that undermines women in the Muslim world, and for that matter, the West.

Here is one of her more toxic tweets:

There is something really wonderful about Iraq. People are so nice.

This is a country that just legalized grown men marrying 9 year old girls.

And soon as it is safer to do so, I would suggest visiting. The situation is still a little volatile and could deteriorate without warning.

Situations are not volatile- people are. Who is being volatile, Bushra? Why are they being volatile? And 9 year old girls, Bushra. 9.

The KSI regions are currently the safest parts. Civil violence with foreign actors still plays a role. Women, local or other do not have to cover- yes, I was surprised too.

Why would you be surprised? You tell Westerners all the time that it's a choice. Also- 9 year old girls. Why would Iraqi men want to marry them?

Many do, others do not. Iraq has its conservative regions and more progressive parts, a blend of both.

So there are some women blessed with reasonable families and neighbors, but there are others who are not. I'm not worried about the blessed women, Bushra. I'm worried about the tormented ones. And this is a little different than "women don't have to cover." This is: "it depends on the sentiments of the local men." Can you talk about 9 year old girls being married off, now?

The Christian community, Chaldeans, Assyrians and others thrive among the Muslims.

The ones that are left, you mean. Where are the Yezidis, by the way, how are they doing? Also, no 9 year old girl in Iraq is safe. Would you like to unpack that?

There is a growing English Expat community resident there too.

Citations, please. I'm guessing that's business related, if it exists, and they stay within their own enclaves. 9 year old girls- explain why Iraq thinks they should be married at that age.

Iraq is an emerging middle power strategically positioned.

Yeah, they've made themselves very popular with neighbors, great peacemakers they are. I'm sure they'll get even better now that they can legally traffic 9 year old girls.

Anyway, look how Bushra threw other women right under the bus, here.

She doesn't mention that men can now marry 9 year old girls. Who lobbied for that, anyway? Of all the problems in Iraq, why did the government even stop to say "let's lower the marrying age to well before puberty, shall we?" Nothing else needs attention, right now? Where did that pressure come from, to make it a priority to legislate? Who demanded it? Why were they catered to?

She doesn't mention Yezidi women, who are IRAQI women, having been enslaved. Many still are enslaved. She downplays women who are forced to cover, insisting that we focus on women who are luckier. That's not the point of activism, to fawn over people who are doing fine.

Bushra Shaikh knows that her Muslim community largely would not put up with her shit of Western clothes, endless selfies, television appearances, traveling, "I'm totally a feminist, Girl Power!" etc. So she carves out this special space just for herself. She undermines other women trying to get where she is in life. She then gets to be "one of the good ones" and receives a pass.

Lots of left wing women do this. Left wing women who would never do porn or surrogacy themselves will be all "pozzy" about it so long as they are never personally coerced into doing either. I consider all "nonbinary" women to be women who don't want gender shit applied to them, but will affirm that gender magic is real. It's totally real, you see, because they have to use they/them pronouns, because they have short hair.

Obsessing about "Karens" is obviously the ultimate pickme garbage.

Women who call themselves leftists aren't much better than right wing women, tbh.

I can forgive them both for not wanting to leave a religious community. That shit is hard to do.

But I just can't respect women who fuck over other women this way. I'd honestly prefer it if Bushra would just put on a hijab, pull all her previous posters down, and never go on television again. Just as I would have preferred Phyllis Schlafly putting an apron back on and gathering her children's dirty socks. If you want to be part of the community, then suffer the way the men intended you to.

Or, if you want to stay in the community but on your own terms, just pluck up the courage to do that. Don't steamroll other women.