Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at 35

Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at 35

Toronto, ON: The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) will celebrate its 35th anniversary along with that of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on October 21 and 22 in Toronto.

Celebrations on Saturday, October 21, at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel, include:

  • A conference on the impact of the Charter on women’s equality in Canada and Canadian Muslim women’s progress since CCMW’s establishment in 1982. The conference features Senator Marilou McPhedran, Honourable Justice Feroza Bhabha, Debbie Douglas, Executive Director of Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, and Don Valley East MP Yasmin Ratansi.

  • A special event for youth, Young, Muslim and Canadian: A Discussion with Canadian Leaders

  • An evening gala featuring a keynote address by the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women.

Events on Sunday, October 22, at the Noor Cultural Centre, include:

  • A unique architectural exhibit, Beyond the Divide: A Century of Canadian Mosque Design and Gender Allocations, created and mounted by Dr. Tammy Gaber and presented in collaboration with the Noor Cultural Centre.

  • A symposium on the architectural and scriptural history and contemporary issues of gender allocations in Muslim sacred spaces, moderated by filmmaker Zarqa Nawaz, creator of Little Mosque on the Prairie, featuring Professors Tammy Gaber and Nevin Reda, and Shahla Khan-Salter, founder of Universalist Muslims.

  • CCMW’s annual Women Who Inspire This year’s recipients are:  Tahmena Bokhari, Nigar Islam, Fehmida Khan, Faduma Mohamed, Hana Shafi, Falahat Sheikh, Lila Shibley, and Zatoon Vania. Here is a link to their bios: http://ccmw.com/ccmw-national/women-who-inspires-2017-awards/

“We’re so proud of all of the women who give so much to their communities.  For the past 35 years, we’ve shown that a small group of Canadian Muslim women can be the change they want to see,” said Alia Hogben, CCMW Executive Director.

In addition to recognizing the honourees above, CCMW will present scholarships to five Canadian Muslim women pursuing post-secondary education. The scholarships are awarded in honour of CCMW’s founder Dr. Lila Fahlman.  This year’s scholarship winners are: Munira Abdulwasi, Houda El Sidawi, Zahro Hassan, Hamdi Jimale, and Farzana Khan. Their bios are here: http://ccmw.com/ccmw-national/scholarship-recipients-2017/

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Contact: Nina Karachi-Khaled at 905-876-8292 or email media@ccmw.com. Tickets can be purchased at https://ccmw35-wwi2017.eventbrite.ca.

Aima Warriach