Tesneem Alkiek – Inspirational Muslim Women #10 Hawa Aden Mohamed

Salaam Alaikum, and welcome back to another episode

of Sayyiddehji,

where we discuss the achievements of some incredible

Muslim woman throughout history.

Today I want to talk about a female

leader who is alive and well and still

working hard in her late sixties to make

a difference in the world.

Hawa Adin Muhammad was born in Somalia but

moved to Canada later in her life after

the civil war in Somalia erupted

she lost her mother as a child and

as a result was left to take care

of a lot of domestic responsibilities as a

young girl.

Her schooling was often disrupted, but when she

was about 14 years old, she finally had

the opportunity to attend school regularly

and because of the many gaps in the

education she underwent beforehand,

she was able to truly appreciate the opportunity

for gaining knowledge. At the age of 8

years old, Howell received an FGM procedure.

Now for those of you who are not

familiar with FGM. It refers to female genital

mutilation. A cultural practice that normalize the cutting

or removal of female genitalia.

Controversy of this procedure aside, it's pretty obvious

from the description alone that this widespread practice

is not only dangerous but long.

When how was older sister underwent the procedure

at the age of 7, she passed away

following infections.

One of the most unfortunate issues of this

procedure

is that it is often invoked and legitimized

as necessary in the in the name of

Islam.

However, knew that as she got older FGM

had no place in Islam.

And her own experiences personally and that of

her late sisters

allowed her to recognize the countless disastrous side

effects of this procedure.

She eventually took it upon herself to make

a difference in this affair, and she dedicated

herself to both the protection of women's rights

and to put an end to FGM in

Somalia.

Ita Litchdar goes into great detail depicting the

life of Hawa. She mentions that despite that

Hawa fled to Canada after the civil war,

she returned to Somalia to start the Juba

Women's Development Center in Kismayo, a port town

devastated by war and teeming with thousands of

refugees, mainly women and children.

Later in her life in 1999,

she established a girls school since most girls

in Somalia couldn't afford to go to school.

As a result of all of her efforts,

Hau and her colleagues at times were accused

of being traitors to Somali culture and to

Islam and at other times were threatened physically.

But that didn't stop her and she started

the school for 120 girls. She said that

in the beginning we had no facilities and

the girls had to sit on the floor

but eventually they received funding from various NGOs.

Today, the school is attended by hundreds of

girls and even offers a part time program

in the afternoon for those who can't attend

full time. Hawa's also built a hostel and

orphanage for refugee school girls. At these educational

spaces apart from receiving a general education,

girls learn about the dangers and mythology of

FGM as well as human rights, women's rights,

leadership and how they can contribute to peace

and rebuilding in Somalia.

Among the handful of awards how was received

is the amnesty international Janetta Sagan award in

2005.

The prize recognized her outstanding achievements in defending

the rights of women and children often at

considerable risk.

The $10,000 prize that she received with this

reward was donated to complete a women's and

girls hospital This is only part of the

story of Hawa Muhammed's achievements

Here's a life of a girl who lost

her mother at a young age and endured

much hardship as a result.

But despite her trials, she pushed herself forward

and took advantage of the education she had

to make a difference in her society.

Hawa recognized what was wrong and what was

inappropriately attributed to ispam

and she refused to sit still as she

watch a practice continue throughout her community that

promoted harm in the name of her religion.

She pushed and pushed

despite the accusations and threats hurled at her

until she managed to directly educate hundreds of

girls who will all eventually pay it forward

for their own generation one day inshallah. Be

the however of your community

Be wary of the injustices

happening in your own community and don't stay

silent.

Raise your voice against immoral practices and then

physically contribute to any project you can that

will help alleviate that issue.

If it's a societal problem that's bigger than

you, remember remember hawa, an entire culture she

had to stand up against when it came

to one practice that was harmful.

And gather those around you, your classmates and

colleagues,

community members and siblings

and encourage them to join you in your

cause to make a difference.

I hope you are inspired by Hawa story

and I hope that it's a reminder of

our individual responsibility

in fighting injustice in our communities.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continue to grant

Hawa strength and resilience in our efforts and

may we be inspired to contribute to our

society through her footsteps. Amin. Gizakumullah Khayyun Wasalamu

alikumahu