AWARDS 2009/2010

Memories; Awards for the work on Violence Against Women and Community Engagement from Criminal Justice Agencies and the Community and Voluntary Sector.

I could not have done this without the support and the budget provided to deliver the projects.

A special thanks to the Women Forums I worked with; Ashram, Asian Women DV forum, partners and stakeholders; Birmingham and Solihull Women's Aids and Roshni. Those colleagues who are friends supporting the programmes I lead; to scrutinize and address Violence Against Women and those lengthy meetings from Board level to Costa Coffee, it did not deter us from making it happen.

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MWN UK met Samar Minallah

Samar Minallah met Muslim Womens Network UK; the Pakistani human rights activist, documentary film maker and writer. For more than a decade, she has been working for civil rights and highlighting various issues related to disadvantaged groups in Pakistan. Samar visited MWN UK to meet board members and Muslim role models, informed the group more about what’s happening in Pakistan at the moment and for Muslim Women’s Network members an opportunity to gain an insight with a worldwide respected human rights activist. Samar Minallah is the founder of Ethnomedia, a documentary production company that looks into the positive aspects of the lives of Pukhtun women alongside broader social and human rights issues.

Her most recent documentary highlighted the plight of Pakhtun tribes, displaced following ongoing fighting in the region. Samar has received the Perdita Huston 2007;Award for her campaign against swaara and vaani tribal customs in parts of the North-West Frontier Province and Punjab and the Unicef Child Rights Award 2005. Her visit was inspirational and listened to women dealing with issues to address violence against women.

She met the UK members of the Pakistani and Kashmiri communities and met UK Muslim commentators and organisations with similar agendas to discuss joint working opportunities.

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MUSLIM WOMEN LEADERSHIP COURSE LONDON ELAND HOUSE

Article first published by HQ press office and CLG press release.

National Civic Participation Programme sponsored by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the National Muslim Women Advisory Group.

The programme selected Muslim women determined to make a difference as community ambassadors showcasing their public roles in civic society.

Parveen completed the Muslim Women Leadership Course on 1 July, which provided further training and development in public speaking, through RADAR and Common Purpose, which specialises in leadership programmes.

Shahid Malik, a DCLG minister, spoke at programme's graduation ceremony at Eland House, Westminster, London.

Parveen said: "We had the opportunity to engage with Muslim women and inform them of the varied roles they can participate in. I was pleased to portray the CPS in such a positive light as an organisation already engaging with diverse communities. I inspired other role models and shared best practice, assisting those Muslim women who required additional support and confidence skills to gain public positions in civic society."

She also appeared on a programme on Successful Asian Women which was aired on Brit Asia TV.

"My role in the organisation has certainly improved community engagement with these women and developed strong links," Parveen added.

"By raising the profile of the community ambassadorial role and working with like-minded individuals, it was a sense of great achievement to ensure I mentored others, provided them an insight in public roles, career opportunities and as a trustee for the Community Integration Partnership.

"It is fair to say that chairing the Regional Women's Issues Group for West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership, working with new migrant communities and visibly being active in the community on behalf of the organisation made me succeed in the selection process for the programme. I hope others will follow suit."

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RAMADAN – UNSUNG HEROINES REVELATION

During this month of Ramadan, Muslim women fast from dawn to dusk; they are constantly juggling their duties, observing prayers and preparing banquet feasts to serve the family and relatives whilst the spirituality of the month is felt by all, women have these additional tasks amongst men. Some take private time to read the Quran and verses to get closer to God. Others go further to conduct Tarawih prayers (comfort prayers) balancing their needs and refraining from sexual contact.

Let’s not forget the women who actively take on paid work, rarely take absence during the holy month due to child care and school holidays. Employers make minor allowances counteracting women’s needs to leave work early to observe fast. However there’s more to the commercialised festive season. I strongly feel Ramadan is the time to soul search, reflect and remember the poor and needy. Women also heavily commit to charity work, visit mosques and give more to the poor by donations whilst I grit my teeth when I see some adolescent women fail to understand the true meaning of Ramadan, systematically drooling over fashion accessories, preparing to dress lavishly in shimmering chouridar suits and sarees; the sparkly gold necklaces, dazzling costume jewellery, draping in layers over the neck and boisterous glass bangles which crackle after the months ritual for a celebration Eid party. I pray Ramadan is a moment for us all to take time to reflect; to share and celebrate Islam as a faith. The festival is only one aspect to develop awareness to society who fail to grasp Islam and its tranquillity of Muslim followers. As debates on the negativity on Islam from how women are treated in the name of the religion to foreign policy, I hope we remember Islam during this month differently on matters of importance between faith and morality, gender discrepancies within Islam’s portrayal by Imams themselves and charitable cause’s women deliver. Ideally we must endure and bare the burdens and hardships other parts of the world are encountering during this holy month whilst showing women the path to integration, patience, tolerance and take pleasure in the celebration of Ramadan; educating others however minute we spend personal time during this auspicious holy month.

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‘Women reads’; are chick-lits diluted?

Do women feel embarrassed to own up they read chick-lits? Female authors change their pen names to avoid their credibility been tarnished as chick-lit writers keep cheerfully filling pages from serials to new yearly reads; we continue as consumers carry them in our handbags. Female authors and their literary agent’s editorial drollness are never ending, women tend to find themselves curled up in bed lost in modern romances and reading the latest. We adore them as chick-lits are stocked in book stores in the high street, stations and supermarkets, tinted in pallid or rosy shades and romantically wrapped calligraphy. This genre is a part of our lives; we grow up reading them as we smile on our characters turn into films and admire authors from Sophie Kinsella to Cecelia Ahern. Can we really live without them tucked by our bedside lamps? I have a box full in the garage and never tip them out hoping to have another glimpse one day or pass to friends.

However; are chick-lits tasteless as critics portray? The harshness is stemmed from the genuine life issues women encounter and some of these books do not actually write about these real women; on gender equality, violence and discrimination rather than a set of dreamy women characters in a superficial way of living from WAGS dazzling in designer handbags. Some critics vow they’re meaningless, a wasted reading time. There are extremely credible women authors whom show a dissimilar intellect by writing a different genre from historical novels like Philippa Gregory whom I admire; what is important is maintaining a balance of female authors who can win both orange book prizes and be short listed amongst male contenders, to have a diverse range of female authors including black and minority ethnic writers whom struggle in the publishing industry and gain accredited acclaim from book clubs reviews. The long lists scarcely carry their names with one or two managing to break the glass ceiling. These women are definitively not categorised as chick-lits; the outstanding author female giant Anita Desai, providing mesmerising reads and classics. Muslim upcoming writers like Shelina Zahra Jan Mohammed, delivering writing workshops give hope to increasing readership amongst new readers and nascent writers from varied communities. All their contributions are positive to ensure women are constantly included in the literary publishing sector. As I scrutinize the women struggling to keep their words a living dream, the pleasure of women readers and choices consumers make to build personal libraries should be their own undertaking. Women are liberated to read and be content; call it escapism or simple humour, women should not feel loathed for reading them after the commercial success they bring to the publishing industry and literary agents.

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Interview with Salma Yaqoob on Women and Politics 2010

with Salma Yaqoob, leader of the Respect 

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BRIT BANGLA MIDLANDS QUIZ NIGHT 31st July 2010

Night of sheer entertainment; hosts Brit Bangla organised a quiz night. I was part of the A team. After serious rivalry and declared joint winners; my team won the tie breaker; however there was controversy surrounding the results when the B team were firstly declared winners in error by the judges with the wrong answer. The nights tempo raised in flames whilst I was playing peacemaker seeking to share the winning prize, the organisers apologised to us all for the blunder.

There were serious double takes; the food was tasteful and mouth watering dishes; supported by spice buffet restaurant which had a selection of Thai, Indian and Chinese. I had taken home the prize of high street vouchers and filled my dressing room already today with yet more irresistible make-up from boots. All teams did well to answer questions on Bangladesh and British heritage, culture and history.

My Brit Bangla winning Team holding the prize.

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