bateman helps organize anti racism and equality event
This is the university equality officer at the centre of a sexism and racism row pictured in front of a 'no white men' sign showing their tears dripping into a cup.
A picture of Bahar Mustafa, 27, student union Welfare and Diversity Officer at Goldsmiths University in London, pretending to cry was posted online as she was being accused of discrimination.
The handmade poster also refers to a ban on 'cis' or cisgender men, a term used of those whose mental gender and physical sex match, which is the opposite of transgender.
The photograph first appeared on Miss Mustafa's Facebook profile on Tuesday, six days after she told white people and men 'not to come' to a meeting she was organising to discuss 'diversifying the curriculum'.
She wrote on Facebook last week: ‘Invite loads of BME [black and minority ethnic] Women and non-binary people!! Also, if you’ve been invited and you’re a man and/or white PLEASE DON’T COME just cos i invited a bunch of people and hope you will be responsible enough to respect this is a BME Women and non-binary event only.’
Non-binary is a term used to describe people who do not consider themselves exclusively male or female.
Miss Mustafa, 27, added: ‘Don’t worry lads we will give you and allies things to do’, followed by a wink.
The event’s online page said it was open to ‘self-defining BLACK and ETHNIC MINORITY women and non-binary people with gender identities that include “woman”.’
A notice about the meeting later appeared to show the ban had been dropped, stating: 'Allies now welcome!'
The post was met with outrage by students of the university, one of whom described the exclusive policy as 'patronising beyond belief'. The story was covered by student newspaper The Tab just hours after Miss Mustafa first posted the image.
Goldsmiths' union eventually backed down after a backlash from students.
The ban on men and white students is surprising, since the organisers claim to promote ‘zero tolerance’ for ‘all forms of prejudice, discrimination and oppression’.
A senior union member told student newspaper The Tab that Miss Mustafa’s actions had made it ‘very difficult’ for male students.
In the hours after the story made national news yesterday, a friend of Miss Mustafa again posted the picture of her pretending to cry to Facebook.
He wrote: 'When you thought the cup in the picture was big enough for white tears'.
In February, Miss Mustafa, whose Twitter biography says she is ‘queer, anti-racist feminist killjoy’, also organised a 'BME ONLY social’ before showing the film Dear White People.
Today her friends posted supportive messages on her Facebook page and also offered her a place to stay if she needed it.
But not everyone was so supportive.
One Facebook friend, called Jessie, wrote: 'You do not speak for me. I voted you into the position of Welfare and Diversity Officer.
'Your passion is inspiring. But I can't defend this. We cannot best "them" by being them. We cannot demand to be included by excluding.
'To specifically exclude a group of people from any event is to become the oppressor. As the oppressed, we should not wish to inflict upon others that pain which we know to be harmful to us.
'This is not the Goldsmiths I love'.
Miss Mustafa recently graduated from Goldsmiths with an MA in gender and media studies.
She is understood to live with her mother Nursen, 55, father Ismail, 57, and sister Ipek, 23, in Enfield in a £450,000 three-bedroom terrace.
The Daily Mail tried to contact Miss Mustafa but she was not available to explain the comments apparently posted from her Facebook account.
A friend told MailOnline she 'does not want to talk to you'.
Yesterday a spokesman for Goldsmiths said the university had no part in the decisions of the union, adding: ‘We are proud of our diverse community and do not tolerate any form of oppression, including racism, sexism or any other form of bigotry.
‘We have written to the students’ union to express our concern.’
The union said: ‘Goldsmiths Students’ Union places huge importance on equality and diversity.
‘It is in this vein that we host spaces where specific minority groups who experience similar discrimination can talk together confidently about overcoming the structural disadvantages and prejudice they face.
‘The accusation that we discriminate is one we refute wholeheartedly'.
bateman helps organize anti racism and equality event
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