The American Association for Arab Women (AAAW) invites Malden to come together for its Fourth Annual International Women's Day (IWD), a worldwide acknowledgement of the status of women in
terms of progress and needed improvements. This year, the event entitled "East to West - celebrating woman through the lens of culture," takes place on Saturday, March 12, 2016, 2:30-5:00pm
in the Maccario Room of the Malden Public Library. This event features talks from three parts of the world East of Malden. It is free and open to the public and will include culturally representative
snacks and performances as well as interactive discussion.
You will hear from women who come from Sweden, Morocco, and China/Taiwan. They will share about the cultural nuances that have shaped their identity and perspectives as women. As expatriates, their
reflections will not only enlighten us about ethnic and regional patterns, they will also help shed light on the culture we all live in now. These talks will spur on further discussion with hopes that
all who attend walk away as fellow journeyers, better equipped to reach our individual and collective potential.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
The American Association for Arab Women (AAAW) is a non-profit organization that has a mission "to empower Arab Women to be leaders in their families and communities in an American society, through becoming knowledgeable on their rights,
making informed decisions on issues, fostering networks and opportunities, sustaining an organized community, learning the necessary communication skills, and overcoming cultural and languages barriers." It also serves as a pillar of educational and social enrichment for all of Malden.
You will hear from women who come from Sweden, Morocco, and China/Taiwan. They will share about the cultural nuances that have shaped their identity and perspectives as women. As expatriates, their reflections will not only enlighten us about ethnic and regional patterns, they will also help shed light on the culture we all live in now. These talks will spur on further discussion with hopes that all who attend walk away as fellow journeyers, better equipped to reach our individual and collective potential. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The American Association for Arab Women (AAAW) is a non-profit organization that has a mission "to empower Arab Women to be leaders in their families and communities in an American society, through becoming knowledgeable on their rights, making informed decisions on issues, fostering networks and opportunities, sustaining an organized community, learning the necessary communication skills, and overcoming cultural and languages barriers." It also serves as a pillar of educational and social enrichment for all of Malden
The American Association for Arab Women hosted an event to celebrate women. Souad Akib, the founder of the association,
focused on bringing presenters to the event that would help women around the community gain independence of their lives. Akib added that she wants
“to make it easter to deal with the difficulties of everyday life as immigrants, as women, and as someone who may not speak perfect english”. The three
tools The American Association for Arab Women spoke on finance, education, and health care.
Michelle English presented information on how people, specifically women can gain “financial independence”. As someone who has worked in banking for 35 years,
English suggested to the audience to write their financial dreams, like buying a house. She expressed how there is a difference between “survival and success”.
It is common for people to focus on the survival: bills and living expenses so much, where they forget to plan for success; owning a home, vacations, etc.
Some people coming to America find that there are challenges with getting healthcare, a necessity for people. Sharon Burton, a community councillor from the
North Suburban WIC program, came to the event to give advice on healthcare. Being in Massachusetts, specifically in the Boston area, puts people at an advantage
to receive good and cheap healthcare packages. Burton explained how “[living in Massachusetts gives people good] access to primary care doctors and pediatricians”.
For example, if people in the Malden community do not want to go into Boston to receive medical treatment, there are community treatments, like Melrose Wakefield Hospital
and the MGH Chelsea Healthcare Center.
It seems as though in today’s society, it is a greater struggle to get into a career without a college education. Sharon Burton also gave advice on finding a job. Statement from Sharon Burton: “Number 1 look around. There are jobs probably right in this area. Talk to people. Ask questions. Secondly, hospitals are a great place for jobs because they are a 24 hour business. Hospitals are open 24 hours a day. So they have to put three shifts in a day. Now you may ask how does that help me. Well, when you’re a mother of young children a 3:00pm to 11:00pm shift might be a perfect job. When we coach people, we ask people if they are looking for a job or the job, and a suggest you look for a job. There is a beauty in something called an internal candidate and when you work for a larger company, hospital etc. and go in at a lower level job, you go in as an internal candidate. Then internal candidate has an advantage when a job is posted.” In addition, Farah Assiraj spoke on how education could help social interactions between different cultures. As someone who came to America as child, Assiraj felt like she was “missing a lot from teachers”, so she continued later in life working with english language learners. In Assiraj’s work, she found that many young girls who wear the hijab face social criticism. Some young girls even question if wearing the hijab is worth the harassment. Assiraj expressed how part of the role of people in the community is to teach young girls about confidence and leadership. Assiraj questioned “how many [books] are written by women authors? How many have a bias? And that the storyline depict themes of women in a way that is not heroic?” To combat “institutionalized ideas of women” Assiraj wants to “encourage parents, students” and people in the community “to seek out the power of women for our young girls; to seek out the voices of those who lead movement”. Intertwined with the many brilliant speakers, the event also provided music and dance from the Muslim culture. Entertainment included Soumaya Arose, Jamal Sinno, and Nassim AlAtrach. Overall, The American Association of Arab Women put together an undeniably empowering event. Every speaker was very willing to give helpful tips for not only women but for people in general in the community. The different expressions of culture should continue annually for more Malden citizens and people around Malden community.