High schoolers take part in first-ever WRDSB event for Muslim students

Grade 12 student Sara Terier says she feels hopeful after taking part in the first Muslim Cultural Celebration Assembly at Eastwood Collegiate Institute.

"It helps me know that, as I'm graduating this year, that like things are slowly getting better because I don't want my kids to go through what had to go through," Terier said.

Students and staff gathered for the assembly Tuesday afternoon. The goal of the event was to celebrate the richness and diversity within the group of students who identify as Muslim.

Terier spoke on stage about her experience as a young Black woman who wears a hijab.

"Growing up and being a Black Muslim woman and going to a predominantly white school for elementary and high school, I think that that can do a lot of damage," she said. 

"I think we're still in a place as a society where we're lacking a lot of those support systems for BIPOC youth," Terier said.

"I know that I've experienced a lot of racism and a lot of unfair treatment throughout my school years and it's definitely made it really hard to show up to school and do what I'm supposed to do there, which is getting [an] education."

Grade 9 student Arshida Khanjani moved to Kitchener from Iran eight months ago. She took part in the assembly and played the barbat on stage to celebrate her heritage.

"It's an Iranian traditional instrument. It's really old. It's been here for, I don't know, maybe thousands of years. But it was banned in Iran for some years. It was illegal to play it," she said.

After the Islamic Revolution ended in Iran in 1979, music was criminalized in Iran. Today, some types of music are still banned and women are prohibited from singing or performing music in public.

Khanjani said being able to participate in an event dedicated to celebrating Muslim culture has helped her find a greater sense of belonging in her new school community.

"When I came here I thought that I might never find friends or I maybe weird for them because I was new and sometimes I can't spell some of the words really good, I can't pronounce them well. I have grammar issues and my talking, but I'm really happy that I'm here because they give attention to us and I feel it," she said.

"It feels like my home and I'm really happy."

Ryan Hume, the principal at Eastwood Collegiate, said helping students like Khanjani and Terier feel more comfortable in the spaces they learn in will help them become more successful as adults.

"We wanted to make sure we could put on celebration where are our students — a significant number of our students being Muslim — could really start to celebrate who they are and have that celebration happen at school so they recognize that we too care about them," he said.

Hume said about 15 per cent of the student body at Eastwood Collegiate identifies as Muslim, including lots of new Canadians from around the world.

Local poet Seemab Zahra was at the event as a performer. She also has three daughters in the public school system and said seeing an auditorium full of young people who look like her own children felt good.

"This is ultimately a safe place for them," she said.

Zahra says when she came to Canada, some people would speak to her differently than to others.

"They would try to have a have an have a pre-assumption about me that, 'Oh, she won't know English.' That's what people assume when they look at you while you're wearing hijab," Zahra said.

She's hoping the event will encourage Muslim girls like her daughters to more confidently embrace their culture and identity, encouraging them to try new things and chase their dreams.