News / WeRise
Rising up against injustice, discrimination and extremism
A Bristol academic and activist is launching a new platform to tackle discrimination and injustice, shatter stereotypes and make sure voices of Muslim women are heard.
“I want women and girls to feel empowered and to know they can do whatever they want to do,” says Aaliyah Hussain, the founder of not-for-profit organisation WeRise.
“They need recognition of their roles as powerful agents of social change and to challenge injustice in whatever form it takes. Things don’t change by themselves, we have to make change.
is needed now More than ever
“This is something that we need to do, but we need to do it on our own terms. It needs to be Muslim women speaking out – we have the key to solving our own problems.”
Aaliyah, who was recently nominated as an ‘Inspiring Woman’ for an exhibition put together by South Gloucestershire Council, is officially launching WeRise at an event in Bradley Stoke on Wednesday, March 27.
It will feature speakers from around the country, including: Shahien Taj, of the Henna Foundation in Cardiff, Shaista Gohir of Muslim Women’s Network UK, Nazia Hussein from the University of Birmingham and Zlakha Ahmed of Apna Haq in Rotherham.
Standing for Women Empowered Against Racism Injustice, Sexism and Extremism, WeRise is based on principles of justice, equality and human rights.
The aim is to create a safe space for Muslim women to speak openly and address the challenges faced, be that racism, sexism, extremism, mental health, social media or anything else, without fear of a negative backlash.
Meeting to speak about the event on the day news broke of the tragic terrorist attacks on two New Zealand mosques, the importance of her work takes on a particularly stark poignancy.
After two maternity breaks, Aaliyah is continuing to work on her PhD at Warwick University, focusing on women’s empowerment in Afghanistan and how the voices of everyday Afghan women are often silenced or marginalised in matters of peace building, security and democratisation.
“If, as Muslim women, we want to talk about gender stereotypes imposed on us by say culture or community or society, our attempts to raise awareness of these issues get high-jacked by various self-serving agendas, for example: the far right, right wing media – or any group that benefits from demonising Muslims,” she explains.
“They use this as a stick to further demonise Muslims and Islam and create this perception that Muslim women need saving by ‘more civilised western saviours’. It needs to be Muslim women speaking out, not people speaking ‘for’ us or ‘at’ us.
“We know what the problems are, and we have the knowledge and expertise to come up with our own solutions, but what we need is support and we need to be included in those conversations.”
Aaliyah Hussain says the hostile environment in the UK at the moment is worse than ever
The activist, who lives with her family in Bradley Stoke, says there is no conflict between her faith and feminism.
“Of course we will always get a backlash from patriarchal forces within our own communities, but we mustn’t simply blame Islam for that. The patriarchy has been around a lot longer than Islam has,” says Aaliyah.
“We want to shatter stereotypes and change the divisive rhetoric and foster cross-cultural understanding and a shared commitment to a shared and peaceful society.”
Aaliyah grew up in East London and went to university in Birmingham and Warwick before moving to Bristol. She says the hostile environment in the UK is worse than it has ever been, admitting: “When you are living in this hostile environment of racism, it’s hard to leave much room for women’s rights.
“We see impact of political discourse that creates an environment of isolation and cultural difference. These can give rise to extremism. When we have vulnerable people having an identity crisis and being asked ‘are you British? Or are you Muslim?’”
“After the Windrush scandal and the Shamima Begum case, many people who were born here and have lived their whole lives here are beginning to doubt their citizenship status, and are fearful that the state will send them ‘back home’. That is a very real fear.”
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