I have a bunch of announcements that I’ve been meaning to post. Please forgive the lateness.
- ULFAH ARTS:
Mix media: radio and film making project – Missing Voices: – immediate start
Have you ever though about producing a film or radio programme or wondered about kick starting a career in media?
Are you female 16-19 years old and Muslim? Can you commit to weekly training sessions?
Ulfah Arts is looking to train young Muslim girls in producing film or radio programmes. They will also be developing their leadership skills through this project. Due to limited spaces please contact Shahida as soon as possible on 0121 446 4460 / 0778 229 8581 or email shahida@ulfaharts.co.uk
The Mysteries and Quranic Stories – 13 December 2008, 10.30am
Ulfah Arts has teamed up with the Belgrade Community & Education Company to develop a project exploring Quranic Stories. We are inviting community members to help us design and shape a project where we will identify Quranic stories and look at how the Belgrade Theatre could best present them i.e poetry, story telling, photography exhibition etc. This is a great chance for individuals who wish to get involved in devising ideas, writing and performing. We aim to present these stories alongside the Mysteries which are stories from the Jewish Scriptures and the New Testament in July 2009. We especially welcome interest from young people and the Muslim community.
To explore this further we are holding a project planning day on 13 December 2008, 10.30am start, at the Belgrade Theatre, Belgrade Square, Coventry CV1 1GS. Booking a space is required so please contact shahida 0121 446 4460 / 0778 229 8581 or email shahida@ulfaharts.co.uk
Ulfah Collective: Singing project for women – Start date December 08
The Ulfah Collective is Ulfah Arts women’s singing/performance project. All women are welcome to join. Performances are to women only and mixed audiences’ singing to music and no music depending on the Islamic practices of the women. Rehearsals are every week at Golden Hillock School (mainly Thursday evenings). For more details contact Uzma on 0121 446 4460 or uzma@ulfaharts.co.uk
Muslim Women Music Makers is Ulfah Arts’ new international campaign launched at the World Music Expo in Seville last month. The aim of this campaign is to build a network of support, provide a platform and develop artists from around the world engaged in making music. The first project of this campaign is to find Muslim female singers/musicians and to take them on a European tour planned for March-May 2009. If you would like to be part of this unique and exciting campaign and tour please visit the Ulfah Arts website and complete the online application form and return it to us no later than 28th December, 2008. Auditions will be held in Birmingham on the 3rd of January, 2009. Selected artists will perform alongside talented female artists from Holland and Denmark. For enquiries please contact Romana on 0121 446 4460 or romana@ulfaharts.co.uk
Volunteering at Ulfah Arts
We have several flexible opportunities for volunteers at Ulfah arts including Administration/office management; Events/community outreach and specific projects. There are also opportunities for researchers, presenters and producers for the weekly Live art show on Unity FM. For more details contact Uzma on 0121 446 4460 or uzma@ulfaharts.co.uk
Please feel free to browse the website by visiting www.ulfaharts.co.uk or give us a ring at the office on 0121 446 4460.
- AQSA MAGAZINE:
Attention Muslim Young Women & Trans People!!
Call for Submissions for AQSA Zine Issue #1
This Issue’s Theme: Resistance and Self-Defense
Because you spend your life fighting back with a smile or fist
Deadline: December 1, 2008
About Us: AQSA Zine is a grassroots print zine, as well as an on-line community (aqsazine.blogspot.com) that is open to all women and trans people who self-identify as Muslim (13 to 35 years old). It is a creative avenue for us to express ourselves, share our own experiences, and connect with others. In Arabic, “aqsa” implies the furthermost, as in reaching out to furthest possible. Aqsa zine aims to inspire struggling to the utmost that we can. “Aqsa” is also the first name of the 16-year-old Muslimwoman, Aqsa Parvez, who was murdered by her family members on December 16, 2007. We recognize her murder as physical form of patriarchal violence, and the response to her murder from public institutions as Islamophobic, racist, and patriarchal. This zine is also inspired by Muslim young women and trans people who experience and resist violence. We work within an anti-racist, anti-Islamophobic, anti-imperialist, pro-choice, queer and trans positive framework. Our aim is to organize and document grassroots movements of Muslim young women and trans people working to end violence in all its forms.
Why Submit: Because you’re tired of feeling fragmented and you know your body shouldn’tbe anyone’s battleground. Because you don’t like being told who is Muslim and who isn’t. Because you know you aren’t anybody’s erotic exotic. Because you’re frustrated with people speaking slowly to you just because you are wearing a hijab. Because you’re sick of people asking “why don’t you wear hijab?” OR telling you you’re not Muslim enough because you don’t wear hijab. Because you’re bored by the question “you’re gay and Muslim?” Because you don’t want to see anymore of your family members profiled and harassed by the police. Because you hate being part of the “random” check at airports. Because you spend your life fighting back with a smile or fist. AQSA Zine is a safe space to tell our stories, and to share and learn our herstories. Because WE SPEAK FOR OURSELVES.
Types of Submissions: Anything goes! Send us your stories (fiction or non-fiction), poetry,artwork, photography, comics, graphic designs, recipes, open letters to your past or futureself or anyone else, ideas, opinions, rants, book/music/art/TV or movie reviews, essays, articles, and/or profiles of or interviews with Muslim women and trans people. We want to learn about your dreams, hopes, fears, strategies for self-care, forms of resistance, and the grassroots movements against violence that occurs within and against our communities.
Confidentiality: Submissions are confidential, and will not be reprinted without the author’s permission. Send us a note along with your submission letting us know whether you would like to be identified on your piece. You can use your first and/or last name, a pen name, or even remain completely anonymous. We want you to feel safe in making a contribution. You may also include a short (1-5 sentences) bio with your submission if you wish.
Deadline for Submissions: December 1, 2008. All submitters will be notified that their piece has been received. Submissions not published in the print zine will be featured on the on-line blog with the author’s permission.
Please note: we reserve the right to edit submissions after consultation the author and submissions are not guaranteed publication in print or on-line.
Launch Parties: We are planning to hold zine launch parties on December 16–the anniversary of Aqsa Parvez’s death. Let us know if you want to hold a launch party in your area. We can help you organize and connect with other young Muslim women near you.
Contact Information: Send us your submissions, ask us questions, request more information or get involved with this project and our work, by contacting us at: Email: aqsazine@gmail.com • Blog: aqsazine.blogspot.com.
- CHAI MAGAZINE:
This issue will address themes of sex and sexuality as they interact with the daily politics of human life. We are looking for feature articles and non-fiction that deal with
1. Gender Roles
– gender roles and gender expectations in the family and society in general
– socialization at home and at school
– gender role education in single gender schools and co-educational schools
– gender role education in private schools and government schools
– gender roles in the curriculum
– the teaching of marriage as the final or one of the final destinations of a person, particularly a woman
– gender roles and class variations
– female and male autonomy from familial and other social institutions in different class strata
2. Sex/Sexuality, Feminism and Activism in Pakistan & Abroad
– the feminist movement in Pakistan – its history and its attention to sex and sexuality
– what feminism means in the Pakistani context
– women’s groups in Pakistan, their missions, agendas, histories
– Pakistani feminism in comparison to other regional or international feminisms
– sexual violence and the feminist movement in Pakistan
– sexual rights movement in Pakistan, South Asia and globally
– gender diversity activism in Pakistan, South Asia and globally
– sexual orientation and queer activism in Pakistan
– non-“feminist” activism on issues of sex and sexuality in Pakistan, South Asia and abroad
– transnational feminism and sex and sexuality activism
Please submit features, non-fiction and fiction of between 500-1200 words; no more than 3 poems; no more than 3 pieces of visual art (min. resolution 300dpi) to CHAYMAGAZINE AT GMAIL DOT COM .
DEADLINE: DECEMBER 15, 2008
- WASHINGTON, DC INTERNSHIP FOR MUSLIM AMERICAN STUDENTS
We would like to introduce the Center for Global Understanding and its Washington D.C. Internship program for Muslim American students.
This program is critical for the development of the next generation of Muslim American leaders. Our program has
been endorsed by Representatives Keith Ellison, Andre Carson, Mike Honda and Laura Richardson along with other Muslim organizations.
Goal:
Encourage Muslim American students to participate in civic engagement through its Washington D.C. internship program. This will help them get first hand experience in the workings of American institutions and help us cultivate the next generation of Muslim American leaders.
Program:
This is a year-round program for 8 to 10 weeks depending on whether a student is enrolled in a quarter or semester program. It is open to all Muslim American students who are at sophomore college level and with a 2.75 GPA and above. They would work 4 days and will have 1 day of classes/field trips per week.
Program Components:
Placement: We will assist students with finding internships in their field of study (i.e. NIH or FDA for public health, DOJ or Supreme Court for law students, EPA for environment majors, The White House or Congress for public policy and political science majors, etc.). A list of sample placements is at: http://www.centerforglobalunderstanding.org/pdf/Sample_Placement_List.pdf
Academic Credits: Students will take one day of classes towards academic credits.
Housing: We have housing arrangement in an apartment setting.
Financial Aid: We have 20 scholarships available for 2009.
http://www.centerforglobalunderstanding.org/Washington_Internship.php
- Room MagazineCall for submissions to Room magazine’s first speculative literature issue, to be published in Spring 2009.
Room is looking for original, unpublished, speculative fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Send us your very best, most literary science fiction, fantasy, ghost stories, fairy stories, magic realism, and surrealism submissions that reflect Room’s commitment to the best in contemporary women’s writing. And we’re looking for suitable artwork and illustrations too.
Please note on your envelope and in your cover letter that you are submitting to Room’s speculative literature issue. And be sure to check out our guidelines before submitting.
Deadline for submissions to Room‘s speculative literature issue is January 15, 2009.