On March 21st, Mariya Taher spoke at a Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) side event entitled: Empowering Muslim Women through Storytelling: A Roundtable Discussion.Sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the United States of America to the United Nations Permanent Observer Mission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to the United Nations, the event sought to showcase how storytelling can inspire social change and focused specifically on how storytelling platforms can be used to amplify the voices of Muslim women worldwide, particularly with the rise of Islamaphobia.

The panel highlighted storytelling collectives like the Muslim Women’s Story Lab and Hijabi Monologues, organizations that 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, were also part of the panel as they have sought to engage diverse communities, including Muslim women, through community-based outreach. Lastly, Breakthrough’s the G word and Sahiyo’s new FGM/C storytelling initiative were asked to speak as part of this panel as these organizations aim to spark discussion on gender identity and gender-based violence through interactive digital platforms.

Speakers included:

• Women in Islam, Inc. founder, Aisha al Adawiyah
• StoryCorps producer, Cailey Cron
• Muslim Women’s Story Lab Aisha al Adawiyah, Maha Marouan, and Tamara Issak.
• Hijabi Monologues founder, Sahar Ullah
• Sahiyo co-founder, Mariya Taher
• Breakthrough’s the G word, Ishita Srivastava
• UN Women’s Mohamed Naciri

To read more about the event, click here. To learn more about work that Sahiyo is doing, visit our website at www.sahiyo.com.