Bilan Osman
Bilan Osman (born 1992)[1] is a Swedish journalist, opinion columnist and anti-racism activist.
Early life and education
[edit]She was born in Gothenburg to parents from Somalia, a chemistry professor and an activist, and raised in Partille.[1][2] Her paternal grandfather, Nor Osman, was a poet.[2] She studied multimedia journalism at Bona Folk High School in Motala.[3]
Career
[edit]Osman has been a columnist at the newspapers Svenska Dagbladet (2018–2019)[4][5] and Expressen,[3][6] and also written opinion articles for other Swedish publications, including the magazine Opulens.[7] For eight years beginning in 2013, her primary work was as a travelling educator for the anti-racism Expo foundation.[8][9] She then joined the Islamic Ibn Rushd Study Association.[9][10][11]
She has contributed to the anthologies Av oss blev det aldrig några riktiga damer,[12] Svart kvinna (2015)[2][13][14] Rummet (2015)[2][15] and En annan historia (2017).[14][16]
Activism
[edit]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.[17] She stated at the time that the group wanted to normalise the hijab in Sweden.[18]
Educating people about and combatting racism is a major focus for Osman.[2][6][14] She has written for the group anti-racist blog Inte rasist, men ... ('Not racist, but ...).[6] In response to the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, Osman said that she sought to "start a conversation about whiteness" in Sweden.[8][19] She covers right-wing extremism and has been accused of left-wing extremism;[9] in early 2024 a Facebook post in which she expressed exasperation with white people led to criticism.[1]
Honors
[edit]In 2014 Osman was the recipient of the annual ELSA Award of the Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism, which is given to "individuals or groups who, via social media or in other ways, counteract anti-Semitism and other types of prejudice".[2][6] In 2020 she was one of four nominees for the "Rising Star" award of the Swedish Magazine Publishers Association.[20]
References
[edit]- ^ Jump up to: a b c Skagegård, Ellinor (16 February 2024). "'Jag var trött på vita och er oförmåga'". Svenska Dagbladet (interview) (in Swedish).
Bilan Osmans föräldrar kommer båda från Somalia men träffades i Sverige. Bilan föddes i Göteborg 1992 och växte upp i Partille.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Arnroth, Thomas (15 January 2016). "'Jag är svart och muslim, var passar jag in?'". KIT.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Krönikörer: Bilan Osman". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "'Jag skriver ofta om extremhögern och jämställdhet'". Svenska Dagbladet (introductory interview) (in Swedish). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Bilan Osman". Svenska Dagbladet (archive of columns) (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Bilan Osman tilldelas 2014 års ELSA-pris" (in Swedish). Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Stadenberg, Elin (13 January 2021). "'Jag kanske skriver en bok om ett öde hus i skogen'". Opulens (introductory interview) (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Johansson, Malena (15 November 2020) [14 November 2020]. "Bilan Osman: 'Sverige ligger efter i förståelsen av rasism'". Dagens Nyheter (interview, with video) (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Bilan Osman: 'Jag är extremt orolig över utvecklingen'". Kvinna till Kvinna (interview) (in Swedish). 15 February 2024 [5 February 2024]. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Osman, Bilan (1 April 2022). "Drevet mot Ibn Rushd är en svensk skandal". Dagens ETC (opinion) (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Förbundskansli". Ibn Rushd Study Association (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Signell, Charlotte, ed. (2014). Av oss blev det aldrig några riktiga damer (in Swedish). Stavsnäs: Sjösala förlag. ISBN 9789187193057. Listing at Bokus.com.
- ^ Ndow Norrby, Fanna, ed. (2015). Svart kvinna (in Swedish). Stockholm: Natur & Kultur. ISBN 9789127144842. Publisher paperback listing.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Bilan Osman har hunnit mer än de flesta". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 7 September 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Astorga Díaz, Camila, ed. (2015). Rummet (in Swedish). Stockholm: Ordfront Galago. ISBN 9789170378553.
- ^ Thomsgård, Lina (2017). En annan historia: om Barumskvinnan, Mama Masika och 49 andra personer alla bör känna till (in Swedish). Stockholm: Volante. ISBN 9789188123459.
- ^ "Ett år sedan hijab-uppropet". Sveriges Radio. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Hijabupprop ska normalisera slöjan" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Osman, Bilan (15 June 2021) [30 June 2020]. "Sverige har varit vithetens högborg". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "The Local's journalist named Sweden's Rising Star of the year". The Local Sweden. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Bilan Osman at Wikimedia Commons- Osman on Twitter
