Sunera Thobani

Sunera Thobani (born 1957) is a Tanzanian-Canadian feminist sociologist, academic, and activist. Her research interests include critical race theory, postcolonial feminism, anti-imperialism, Islamophobia, Indigeneity, and the war on terror. She is currently a professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. Thobani is also a founding member of Researchers and Academics of Colour for Equality/Equity (R.A.C.E.), the former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), and the director for the Centre for Race, Autobiography, Gender, and Age (RAGA).

Early life and education Thobani was born in 1957 in Tanzania to parents of South Asian descent. After spending her childhood in East Africa, she attended Middlesex University in England, completing her bachelor's degree in 1986. In 1989, Thobani received a master's degree from University of Colorado in the United States. During her stay at Simon Fraser, she also served as the Ruth Wynn Woodward Endowed Professor and chair. Thobani has also previously lectured at Evergreen State College, a liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Since 2000, she has been teaching at the University of British Columbia. As an undergraduate student living in the United Kingdom, she worked with different South Asian women's organizations. Securing the blessing of her predecessor—socialist feminist Judy Rebick—Thobani focused on making the organization a more inclusive space for women of color. Working collaboratively with other community organizations for equity and social justice, RAGA focuses on the importance autobiography and oral histories.

Alongside feminists Sherene Razack and Yasmin Jiwani, Thobani also co-founded Researchers and Academics of Colour for Equality/Equity (R.A.C.E.). It is a collaborative coalition of First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Non-status Indians, people of color, and white allies who are engaged in the production of critical academic and activist knowledges. R.A.C.E. is a non-profit committed to anti-racist, anti-colonial, and feminist scholarship and praxis.

Speeches and controversies

NAC presidency Thobani's academic and activist work has garnered both support and backlash. Her 1993 appointment to the office of NAC president outraged some Canadians. Notably, on 23 April 1993, Tory MP John Alexander Frances MacDougall (Timiskaming) questioned Thobani's citizenship status in the House of Commons of Canada—referring to her as an "illegal immigrant." His comments sparked outrage. Acting NAC President, Judy Rebick, labelled MacDougall's line of questioning "irresponsible and reprehensible," as well as "sexist and racist."

However, MacDougall's concerns did resonate with some Canadians. For instance, some white Canadian women viewed Thobani's NAC appointment as divisive. One particular woman—identifying herself as a fifth-generation white Canadian—wrote to the Toronto Star in order to express her doubts about Thobani's ability to represent "women whose forebears built this country."

9/11 speech On 1 October 2001, Thobani gave a speech at the "Women's Resistance: From Victimization to Criminalization" conference concerning the September 11 attacks. This speech—which rejected an ahistorical framing of the recent attacks—launched a firestorm of controversy. In it, she stated that:

"U.S. foreign policy is soaked in blood. And other countries of the West including "shamefully" Canada, cannot line up fast enough behind it. All want to sign up now as Americans and I think it is the responsibility of the women's movement in this country to stop that, to fight against it." As a result, she was accused by an anonymous resident of a criminal hate crime, an allegation investigated by the police. and police said they would not charge her with a hate crime. A version of her speech, "War Frenzy," has since been incorporated into the Great Canadian Speeches anthology, initially published in 2004.

Selected publications

Books Hellwig, Tineke, and Sunera Thobani, eds. Asian Women: Interconnections. Toronto: Women's Press, 2006. Thobani, Sunera. Exalted Subjects: Studies in the Making of Race and Nation in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007. Razack, Sherene, Thobani, Sunera, and Malinda Smith, eds. States of Race: Critical Race Feminism for the 21st Century. Toronto: Between the Lines, 2010. Thobani, Sunera. Contesting Islam, Constructing Race and Sexuality: The Inordinate Desire of the West. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. Thobani, Sunera (Ed.). Coloniality and Racial (In)Justice in the University: Counting for Nothing? Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2021. Thobani, Sunera (Ed.). The Deadly Intersections of COVID-19: Race, States, Inequalities and Global Society. Bristol University Press, 2022.