Women’s Wednesdays: Bahamian Muslimah Identities
#WomensWednesdays highlights Bahamian women and our experiences in The Bahamas, specific to our identities including gender, race, sexuality, age, and ability. Held once per month at minimum, the events will draw women together to have conversations that bring our individual lives into focus while connecting to family, community, and national narratives.
#WomensWednesdays intentionally centers and prioritizes women and girls, and is open to the public through in-person events, livestreams, and social media activity. It is a collaborative effort of Equality Bahamas and the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas to create a safe space for knowledge-building, idea-sharing, critical dialogue, and movement-building.
This conversation centers around gender, culture, and the construction of Bahamian Muslimah identities. There are approximately 350 persons who identify as Muslim in the Bahamas (Department of Statistics, Bahamas 2010; Masjid records). This minority religion includes an increasing population of young Bahamian women converts. What does it mean to be a Muslim Bahamian / Bahamian Muslim? The conversation will be accompanied by a projection of photographs documenting the Bahamian Muslim community then and now.
Questions framing our conversation:
– What does it mean to be a Muslim Bahamian woman?
– How do the Bahamian and Muslim identities intersect, complement one another, or compromise one another?
– How do Bahamian Muslim women relate to, interact with, and share challenges and solutions with other minority groups in The Bahamas?
– What is ‘Islamic’ feminism? And how does it differ from mainstream feminism?
– What does it mean to be a Muslim Bahamian woman?
– How do the Bahamian and Muslim identities intersect, complement one another, or compromise one another?
– How do Bahamian Muslim women relate to, interact with, and share challenges and solutions with other minority groups in The Bahamas?
– What is ‘Islamic’ feminism? And how does it differ from mainstream feminism?