Call for Artists & Performers for Profile This! launch of AQSAzine Issue #3 My Islam June 16th
Submission Deadline is May 21st Please spread the word!
AQSAzine is looking for self-identified Muslim women and trans people to showcase their talents in music, spoken word, dance, poetry, comedy, art, performance art etc. for Profile This! My Islam on Wednesday June 16th from 6-8 pm at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It is a FREE event hosted in partnership with The AGO Youth Council and AQSAzine.
Submission Guidelines:
*For visual pieces, please email photo(s)
*For spoken word/poetry, please email a text document of the piece(s) you would like to read
*For dance pieces please email link or Youtube video you would like to perform
*For musical performances, please email a link or mp3 of the song(s) you are interested in performing
*For video/multi-media pieces, please email a link or media file
*For all submission please include logistical restrictions and/or any required equipment
NOTE: Pieces do not have to specifically address themes of identity or religion. Multiple pieces can be submitted for consideration. Artists will have an opportunity to sell their work or CDs etc. All pieces (not for sale and unsold) will be returned at the end of the night.
All submissions should be sent to aqsazine@gmail.com by a May 21st. Please contact us if you are having trouble with sending submissions. We will let you know if we are able to show your piece(s) and/or give you a performance slot.
AQSAzine is a grassroots arts collective of 16-30ish year old women and trans people who identify as Muslim. It is a creative avenue to express ourselves, share our experiences, and connect with others. Profile This! My Islam is the launch of AQSAzine Issue #3. It will be an inspiring event showcasing visual art, readings, multi-media and musical performances by Muslim young women and trans people as well as have art making workshops.
The application deadline for artists, performers and volunteers is Friday, May 21st, 2010.
For any further information:
Contact us at aqsazine@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter: AQSAzine
Add us on Faceboo Aqsa Zine
http://www.aqsazine.com/
Friday, May 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
AQSAzine Retreat May 30th
AQSAzine Retreat Converse, Create, Conspire with us
Sunday May 30th 11:00am - 7:00 pm
Writing, Art, Radio, Silk Screening, Poetry Workshops
Shared Learning
Shared Learning
Recreational sports (soccer?!)
Good Eats
Free event with TTC, lunch, dinner included
Child care available on request (contact us at least two days in advance)
The retreat will be a relaxed, creative, confidential, safer space that we can leave our fears at the door and chill with one another. It willl be a place for us to explore our voices, get to know one another and create. We will conspire, plan, and dream about collaborations i.e. actions, blog, zine, radio show, film screenings, art etc.
Register at aqsazine at gmail.com
AQSAzine Retreat is open to 16-35 year old women and trans people who self identify as Muslim. Please invite friends and family.
AQSAzine collective strives to create spaces where self-identified Muslim women and trans people regardless of race, ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, nationality, sect, mode of dress, religiosity, gender identity, class can feel comfortable.
Funding for the retreat is provided by ArtReach Toronto
Friday, April 9, 2010
NO to Quebec Provincial Bill 94
NO to Quebec Provincial Bill 94
Statement by No Bill 94 Coalition
Quebec Premier Jean Charest has proposed legislation which, if approved by the National Assembly of Quebec, would deny essential government services, public employment, educational opportunities, and health care to people who wear facial coverings. Bill 94 specifically targets Muslim women who wear the niqab (face veil). The bill is an exaggerated response to a manufactured crisis that will allow the government to deny women services to which they are entitled. A truly democratic society is one in which all individuals have the freedom of religious expression and a right to access public services.
Although touted as a step toward gender equality, Bill 94, if approved, will perpetuate gender inequality by legislating control over women’s bodies and sanctioning discrimination against Muslim women who wear the niqab. Instead of singling out a minuscule percentage of the population, government resources would be better spent implementing poverty reduction and education programs to address real gender inequality in meaningful ways. Barring any woman from social services, employment, health, and education, as well as creating a climate of shame and fear around her is not an effective means to her empowerment. If Premier Charest’s government is truly committed to gender equality it should foster a safe and inclusive society that respects a woman’s right to make decisions for herself. Standing up for women’s rights is admirable. “Rescuing” women is paternalistic and insulting. Further marginalizing Muslim women who wear niqab and denying them access to social services, economic opportunities and civic participation is unacceptable.
Forcing a woman to reveal part of her body is no different from forcing her to be covered. Both the federal Conservative and Liberal parties have expressed support for Bill 94, which raises the very real possibility that similar legislation will be proposed across Canada. We demand that Bill 94 be withdrawn immediately, as it has no place in a democratic state that values autonomy, liberty and justice.
No Bill 94 Coalition is made up of concerned individuals, organizations and grassroots movements that are demanding that the proposed Quebec legislation, Bill 94, be withdrawn immediately.
We invite all individuals and groups of conscience inside and outside of Quebec to publicly or privately endorse this statement by emailing their name(s), location (city, state/province, and country), and contact information to nonbill94@gmail.com. For more information please http://nonbill94.wordpress.com or join the facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115876751763202&ref=ts
Statement by No Bill 94 Coalition
Quebec Premier Jean Charest has proposed legislation which, if approved by the National Assembly of Quebec, would deny essential government services, public employment, educational opportunities, and health care to people who wear facial coverings. Bill 94 specifically targets Muslim women who wear the niqab (face veil). The bill is an exaggerated response to a manufactured crisis that will allow the government to deny women services to which they are entitled. A truly democratic society is one in which all individuals have the freedom of religious expression and a right to access public services.
Although touted as a step toward gender equality, Bill 94, if approved, will perpetuate gender inequality by legislating control over women’s bodies and sanctioning discrimination against Muslim women who wear the niqab. Instead of singling out a minuscule percentage of the population, government resources would be better spent implementing poverty reduction and education programs to address real gender inequality in meaningful ways. Barring any woman from social services, employment, health, and education, as well as creating a climate of shame and fear around her is not an effective means to her empowerment. If Premier Charest’s government is truly committed to gender equality it should foster a safe and inclusive society that respects a woman’s right to make decisions for herself. Standing up for women’s rights is admirable. “Rescuing” women is paternalistic and insulting. Further marginalizing Muslim women who wear niqab and denying them access to social services, economic opportunities and civic participation is unacceptable.
Forcing a woman to reveal part of her body is no different from forcing her to be covered. Both the federal Conservative and Liberal parties have expressed support for Bill 94, which raises the very real possibility that similar legislation will be proposed across Canada. We demand that Bill 94 be withdrawn immediately, as it has no place in a democratic state that values autonomy, liberty and justice.
No Bill 94 Coalition is made up of concerned individuals, organizations and grassroots movements that are demanding that the proposed Quebec legislation, Bill 94, be withdrawn immediately.
We invite all individuals and groups of conscience inside and outside of Quebec to publicly or privately endorse this statement by emailing their name(s), location (city, state/province, and country), and contact information to nonbill94@gmail.com. For more information please http://nonbill94.wordpress.com or join the facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115876751763202&ref=ts
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Are We Equal? Muslim girls and boys in conversation
In 2008, Riverdale Immigrant Womens Centre (RIWC) in Toronto embarked on an exciting Healthy, Equal Relationship project for Muslim youth funded by the Ontario Womens Directorate for the 2008/09 school year. This initiative aimed to provide youth with the tools and opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of inequality, and to reduce inequality across genders among middle-school students.
The project resulted in a larger documentary called "Are we equal?: Muslim girls and boys in Conversation", which explores the relationships between Muslim boys and girls as well as issues such as racism, family, peer pressure, etc. that impact this gender dynamics.
This short film clip was directed by Sidrah Laldin
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
AQSAzine on the air
AQSAzine participated in a town hall meeting at CBC studios entitled moving beyond stereotypes of family violence in South Asian communities in the Greater Toronto Area.
http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/features/familyviolence/
http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/features/familyviolence/
Action Alert: Nazia Quazi
From the Coast http://www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archives/2010/03/19/canadian-government-indifferent-to-plight-of-woman-held-captive-in-saudi-arabia
"A Canadian woman being held against her will in Saudi Arabia says the Canadian government is not taking her plight seriously.
Nazia Quazi was taken to Saudi Arabia by her father in November 2007. Because of that country’s archaic gender laws, women of any age are subject to male “guardianship.” In the 24-year-old Quazi’s case, her father has taken her passport, and refuses to sign an exit visa allowing her to leave the country…
Her family moved to Canada in 2001, although Quazi says her father has maintained a residence in Saudi Arabia, where he works for a bank, for 25 years. Quazi went to high school in Canada and became a citizen in 2005.
In 2007 she traveled on holiday to Dubai to visit her boyfriend. But when her parents learned of the trip, they flew to Dubai to intervene. Her father took her to India, and then to Saudi Arabia on a three-month visa. But, without her knowledge or consent, Quazi’s father changed the visa to a permanent visa.
Ever since, she says, she has been pleading with the Canadian embassy to intervene, but has gotten next to no response.
“When I try to contact them, I don’t get a positive response of any kind. They always say, ‘we’re still trying, we haven’t heard anything yet, but when we do we will let you know.’ There’s never a real straight-up answer to me, to my face. I’m just waiting for them to do something, waiting for something to happen.
…Citing privacy law, a spokesperson with the ministry of foreign affairs declined to comment specifically on Quazi’s case, but said the Canadian consulate in Saudi Arabia is aware of a Canadian citizen’s request for help and is “taking steps” to provide that help.
But a two-year-plus wait for resolution to Quazi’s case has raised accusations that the Harper government is not supportive of women generally"
Get involved: If you’re Canadian, get involved in this Human Rights Watch campaign. If you’re not, you can still write a polite note to the Foreign Secretary to express your concern and urge prompt action:
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Email: Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Email: Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca
Also, you can write the Saudi ambassador to the US:
Adel A. Al-Jubeir
Ambassador
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia 601 New Hampshire Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20037
press@saudiembassy.net
Ambassador
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia 601 New Hampshire Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20037
press@saudiembassy.net
And to the Saudi Ambassador to Canada:
Mr. Asaad Al-Zuhair
Ambassador
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
99 Bank Street Suite 901, ,br/> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1P 6B9
Ambassador
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
99 Bank Street Suite 901, ,br/> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1P 6B9
Join the ‘Help Nazia Quazi Come Back to Canada’ Facebook page to show your support and keep up with the latest developments"
Also Thea Lim has written a amazing article on Nazia check it out at http://www.racialicious.com/2010/03/25/action-alert-nazia-quazi/. Thanks for the shout out Thea.
Also Thea Lim has written a amazing article on Nazia check it out at http://www.racialicious.com/2010/03/25/action-alert-nazia-quazi/. Thanks for the shout out Thea.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Read Your Poetry, Spoken Word, Prose at at Pride Toronto 2010
100% Halal Love
AQSAzine has been asked to host part of Proud Voices, Pride Toronto's Reading Stage on July 3rd from 2 pm - 3 pm. We are looking for Muslim women and trans people who are interested in reading thier writing, prose, poetry and spoken word at the event. You can read one piece or more.
***You will recieve a small honarium and some swag for your performance.
Email us if you are interested at aqsazine at gmail.com
AQSAzine has been asked to host part of Proud Voices, Pride Toronto's Reading Stage on July 3rd from 2 pm - 3 pm. We are looking for Muslim women and trans people who are interested in reading thier writing, prose, poetry and spoken word at the event. You can read one piece or more.
***You will recieve a small honarium and some swag for your performance.
Email us if you are interested at aqsazine at gmail.com
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