Empowering Muslim Women through Storytelling: A Roundtable Discussion

Mariya Taher

Description: With the rise of Islamophobia in mainstream media, the need to produce alternative narratives that amplify the voices of Muslim women telling their own stories has never been greater. In the last few years, storytelling collectives like the Muslim Women’s Story Lab and Hijabi Monologues have created platforms for Muslim women to reclaim their own narratives, whether discussing issues of women’s leadership and mosque access to rising anti-Muslim sentiment and questions around race and solidarity with broader social justice movements. Mainstream storytelling initiatives, such as StoryCorps, have sought to engage diverse communities, including Muslim women, through community-based outreach. Others, like Breakthrough’s the G word or Sahiyo’s new FGM/C storytelling initiative that aim to spark discussion on gender identity and gender-based violence through interactive digital platforms. Through this roundtable, we hope to bring together a diverse set of speakers, all involved in storytelling as a vehicle for social change, to focus specifically on how their platforms can be used to amplify the voices of Muslim women worldwide. We hope that you can join the Permanent Missions of the United States and the OIC at this roundtable discussion.