'I can't be racist because I'm an ethnic minority woman', says Goldsmiths university diversity officer embroiled in racism row

Goldsmiths University's student union welfare and diversity officer Bahar Mustafa sparked a backlash when she told white people and men they should not attend an event on "diversifying the curriculum".

She wrote on Facebook: “Invite loads of BME 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.”

Her comments were branded "laughable" and "patronising" by fellow students.

And Goldsmiths University said it had written to the union to "express concern" at the comments, and added: "We are proud of our diverse community and do not tolerate any form of oppression, including racism, sexism or any other form of bigotry.”

But Ms Mustafa, 27, has hit back in the row, describing the backlash over her Facebook post as "only one in a series of attacks upon minority women on campus.”

Facebook post: Bahar Mustafa told white people and men not to attend the event In a statement read out to fellow students, she accused the media of embarking on a "witch hunt and shameful character assassination".

She said: "There have been charges laid against me that I am racist and sexist towards white men.

"I, an ethnic minority woman, cannot be racist or sexist towards white men, because racism and sexism describe structures of privilege based on race and gender.

"Therefore, women of colour and minority genders cannot be racist or sexist, since we do not stand to benefit from such a system.”

In a seven-minute statement, she also accused people who "benefit from white supremacy" of "clinging on" to power and added: "We are not going down without as fight."

She said: "Reverse racism and reverse sexism are not real.

"We will not be silenced; we are militant. The world is not ready for minorities to challenge the status quo, but resistance to our resistance is futile."

Her speech drew applause from a crowd of students gathered at an event at Goldsmith's in New Cross last week.

The student's union had previously said it was reviewing how it communicates with people to "avoid any future misunderstandings" after the backlash over Ms Mustafa's comments ahead of the scheduled event in April.

It added: “Challenging societal inequality has been at the core of our campaigns and we try to do this pro-actively in our everyday work, so the accusation that we discriminate is one we refute wholeheartedly.”