Certificate of Appreciation for Rabeah Malik

Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) has been presenting workshops across Canada as part of the DARE2 Project initiative to raise awareness of Islamophobia and online hate with resources that can assist with countering racism both online and offline. https://www.ccmw.com/dare.  

 According to Race Relations Canada, I in 5 Canadians (20%) experience discrimination regularly or from time to time.  Among Black and Indigenous peoples, the rate of discrimination was 50%. There has been a 253% increase between 2012 to 2015 of police-reported hated crimes against Muslims in Canada.

Durham Region CCMW has presented ten workshops to local schools, towns, and community organizations by a team of women:  Natalia Kassam was recognized by the town of Whitby, and Farzana Balapatel and  Kubra Mir received certificates of appreciation from the town of Ajax. The Mayor of Oshawa, Dan Carter presented a certificate of appreciation to Rabeah Malik.  

Oshawa Resident, Rabeah Malik is a member of the presentation team and has lived in Oshawa for the past 10 years.  Rabeah was born in Toronto, Ontario to immigrant parents from Pakistan and understands the struggles of adapting to a new country.  She is an elementary school teacher and is currently completing her Masters's in Education at Ontario Technical university.  She is one of the founders of Nurish food bank based out of Oshawa mosque and is in a leadership role for Helping the Hungry, a branch of the International Development and Relief Foundation.  In the online workshops,  She spoke about her journey toward wearing the hijab and the difficulties she faced in society when she wears it.  

Attending the presentation were Rabeah's young children, Durham region chapter members Sherbanu Ahmed, Farzana Anjum, Nida Farooqui,, Sheeba Khan and Kubra Mir.  Special thanks to Leah George from the office of the Mayor for her assistance.