AYA Sistership

At Ansar Youth Association (AYA), we understand that being a young Muslim has its advantages and challenges. To fulfill a need for mentorship and sisterhood for young Muslimahs, we are launching the Sistership Program. This program, in its pilot phase, will consist of a cohort of 7 girls and will be led by the women of AYA in fulfilling the curriculum and objectives outlined below.
Our goal is to provide a space for young Muslimahs to foster healthy relationships with themselves and one another as they go through the early years of their youth.

AGE

This program is intended for girls aged 12 to 16 years.

INTRO

The AYA Sistership is an 8 month-long initiative that seeks to empower young girls with the mental, physical, philosophical, and spiritual foundations needed to navigate modern challenges and thrive as young Muslimahs. The program aims to support the development of more effective, compassionate, confident, and knowledgeable young Muslimahs.

Through our curriculum, we plan (but are not limited) to:

Establish a sisterhood for young Muslimahs and an organic mentorship program. The objective of this is to offer young Muslimahs peers and older friends to turn to for guidance, discuss challenges they may be facing, and understand their abilities.
Revise or establish the pillars of Islam and how to practice them
Develop an understanding of Islamic ethics and how to be conscious of our actions, and intentions.
Learn and discuss feminism, racism, and sexism by comparing and contrasting academic works through an Islamic understanding and lens
Develop physical abilities and skills by engaging with the city’s natural landscape. This aspect will include physical activities such as hiking, skiing, camping, cooking, and other activities to be decided by the cohort.

Our long term goal is to equip young women with the tools needed to become educated, empathetic, and strong Muslimahs with confidence in their abilities.

TOPICS

The topics may change in order to accommodate the cohort better and not all topics may be covered in the time allotted. We will keep both the cohort and their parents/guardians updated. Additionally, we will release the curriculum through the week to come. Topics include:

Introductions, Identity, and Belonging
Fundamentals
Changing Bodies, Health, Consent, and Abuse
Stewardship of the Land, First Nations Peoples, and Us
Feminism - Definition and Context across Religion and Cultures
Mental Wellness, Inclusivity, and Empathy
Orientalism, Colonialism, and the West
Ramadan, the Qur'an, and our Time

TIME COMMITMENT

This program will include a weekly meet-up as determined by the applicants and their schedules. Aside from the weekly meetup, this program will also require a 2 - 3 hrs commitment throughout the week for readings, preparations for discussions, essays, projects, and other contributions.

We start on October 1st, 2020 and end July 1st, 2021. The attendees of the program and their parents will then assess the program and discuss if an extension of another 3 months should be included.