Malala hits out at Hollywood for lack of Muslim representation: ‘It feels like they’re saying we don’t belong here’

‘Muslims are 25 per cent of the population, but only one per cent of characters in popular TV series,’ the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said

Malala Yousafzai has called out Hollywood for its lack of Muslim and Asian representation.

During her speech at Variety’s Power of Women event, the 25-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate said that Muslim actors only make up one per cent of popular television series leads.

“I learned that Asian people like me make up less than four per cent of leads in Hollywood films,” she said. “Muslims are 25 per cent of the population, but only one per cent of characters in popular TV series.

“I know that the executives have passed on dozens of quality, equally amazing projects because they thought that the characters or their creators were too young, too Brown, too foreign, too poor,” Yousafzai added. “Sometimes it feels like they’re saying we just don’t belong here.”

Yousafzai recently launched her film production career with three projects for Apple.

Earlier this month, Yousafzai’s production company Extracurricular partnered with the indie studio A24 for an untitled feature documentary on the”haenyeo” society of fisherwomen who live on South Korea’s Jeju Island.

The second project is a scripted series based on Asha Lemmie’s coming-of-age novel Fifty Words for Rain, about a woman’s search for acceptance in post-World War II Japan.

This project is a feature film with Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay and his production company, Hyperobject, based on Elaine Hsieh Chou’s book Disorientation.

Speaking of these projects, Yousafzai told Variety that she’s hoping “to bring to the table are the voices of women of colour, and debut writers and Muslim directors and writers.

“I hope we can have a wide range of perspectives and we challenge some of the stereotypes we hold in our societies.

“I also hope that the content is entertaining and that people fall in love with the characters and have the best time together.”