“I have three strikes against me, I am female, I am Muslim, and I am black.” These were the opening words of second-year student Amina Animashawun’s powerful spoken word poem.
On January 18, Greenlight Productions hosted an open mic night for women to share poetry, personal stories, and other forms of media to describe the struggles women and Muslim women face.
The stories of women experiencing prejudice around the globe continue to surface. Women are rejected from social, political, and career opportunities solely due to their gender and religious appearance. Identity, especially religious identity, is often treated as a social crime when the unofficial ten commandments of society state that homogeneity trumps the need for diversity and eccentricity. It is in these open mic nights that female participants in the York community feel the courage to express their angst, encourage their peers to remain confident in their religious or gender identity, and feel assured in sharing their stories and experiences.
“I realized I was not the only woman who faced a pushback from my community in terms of having a faith and being a capable individual in modern society,” says Nawal Salim, founder of Greenlight Productions.
“I feel there is a desperate need for women in general, religious or not, to articulate their struggles.”
Salim began the media and advocacy club in 2013, when she became inspired to give religious, ethnic, and Canadian Muslim women the opportunity to be heard. She has since created over 20 events to create dialogue about the issues both women and men face in modern society, hoping to prove that successful women today can abide by their religion while advancing in their own career and life interests. Greenlight Productions hosts a multitude of open mic nights with diverse themes.
The next open mic night will take place on February 1, encompassing South Asian struggles.
Elite Hasson, Contributor
Featured image courtesy of Nawal Salim
