Bilan Osman

Bilan Osman (born 1992) is a Swedish journalist, opinion columnist and anti-racism activist.

Early life and education She was born in Gothenburg to parents from Somalia, a chemistry professor and an activist, and raised in Partille. Her paternal grandfather, Nor Osman, was a poet.

Career Osman has been a columnist at the newspapers Svenska Dagbladet (2018–2019) and Expressen, For eight years beginning in 2013, her primary work was as a travelling educator for the anti-racism Expo foundation. She then joined the Islamic .

She has contributed to the anthologies Av oss blev det aldrig några riktiga damer, Svart kvinna (2015) and En annan historia (2017).

Activism In 2013, Osman was one of five co-signatories of an open letter in Aftonbladet urging Muslim women in Sweden to veil themselves in solidarity with a pregnant woman who was attacked in Stockholm by a man who objected to her hijab. She stated at the time that the group wanted to normalise the hijab in Sweden.

Educating people about and combatting racism is a major focus for Osman. She has written for the group anti-racist blog Inte rasist, men ... ('Not racist, but ...). She covers right-wing extremism and has been accused of left-wing extremism; In 2020 she was one of four nominees for the "Rising Star" award of the Swedish Magazine Publishers Association.