Dundee: Islamophobia Awareness Month Activities
27th November 2024
by Samera Iqbal
November marks Islamophobia Awareness Month, providing an opportunity for organisations to educate themselves and other through information on Islamophobia and its impact. This, in turn, allows employees to better combat stereotype and workplace biases.
Our Creative Well-Being Team in Dundee has been busy taking part in various projects and activities to help combat Islamophobia in Dundee. This year’s theme for Islamophobia Awareness Month has been Seeds of Change, signifying how small actions can have a substantial impact in society.
As part of this initiative, our Creative Well-Being group has been involved in a number of ways. A key part of combatting Islamophobia includes empowering Muslim women, whether through inclusive sports activities, art projects, or other creative outlets. Drawing on the theme of this year’s campaign, our team has drawn on small forms of empowerment to help to create a substantial impact in society, encouraging countless Muslim & BME women to take part in activities they may never have considered for themselves.
Some key activities this month have included:
Empowering Women Through Sports
Our Dundee & Glasgow Creative Well-Being teams have been hard at work, providing equal access to sports for Muslim & BME women that prefer sports in a safe, women-only space. Our sports partnerships this month have included a Sportscotland Basketball partnership for young Muslim & BME women, as well as our Level 1 Badminton Coaching Course with Badminton Scotland. Earlier this year, we partnered with the Muslim Golf Association to provide free golf sessions to Muslim & BME women in Glasgow.
Unveiled, in Partnership with How It Felt
In the lead-up to November, Amina Dundee’s Creative Well-Being partnered with How It Felt for a project, which was part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2024. ‘Unveiled’ was a mixed media art and mental health project for Muslim & BME women living in Dundee, coordinated and led by How It Felt. The output of the project included designing beautiful hijab portraits using various materials, which were exhibited in our Creative Well-Being space in Dundee. Find out more about the exhibition here.
Launching the Dundee Tapestry for Scottish Interfaith Week
Our women in Dundee Creative Well-Being helped to create the beautiful Discovery Embroidery, which was used as a spectacular feature during the launch of Scottish Interfaith Week on 12th November. This year marked the 20th Anniversary for Scottish Interfaith Week, making it a very special week indeed! This year’s theme was Faith Matters, the tapestry was created over 6 months, with people from a diverse range of faiths and beliefs coming together to work on this. A big thank you to all of our women in Dundee who created patches for the tapestry.
Creative Well-Being is a safe space for Muslim & BME women to come together to learn, create and grow. Register for Dundee Creative Well-Being or Glasgow Women’s Friendship Group for free weekly activities in a safe and welcoming space!