Muslim Women’s Club Protests for Palestine On and Off Campus
By Fran Pacchiano
October 16, 2023
The Muslim Women’s Club (MWC) at Vancouver Island University’s Nanaimo campus is addressing the war in Palestine by using their social media presence and peaceful protests on campus to raise student awareness and fight misinformation.
On Thursday, October 12th, the MWC organized a Stand in Solidarity with Palestine event with the Muslim Students Association (MSA) with people of Jewish and Christian faiths showing up in support. The protest also attracted the attention of the Nanaimo RCMP and various local news organizations.
Sara Kishawi, Co-President of the MWC, said, “There was quite a crowd standing there and I like to think that at least we showed that there’s something going on.”
Kishawi said she felt compelled to do something for her homeland. “It’s very personal to me. I’m from Gaza, so that was…my home. So, it’s always been almost a sense of duty for me…The very least I could do is educate people.”
The club wants to support Muslim students on campus in these ways, but also hold space for non-Muslim students to learn about Islam and the community in a safe environment. Kishawi said many non-Muslim students have “these assumptions, which are innocent,” but if incorrect can “lead on to a more negative stance.”
The MWC originally formed on campus in February of 2023 to create a safe space for women to learn and build community. Their first event on March 9th of this year, Hijabs and Henna, encouraged students to ask questions and try on hijabs. “First and foremost, this club was to be a safe space for all women on campus, to discuss issues, to have that community to back them up, and to be able to showcase and host things that they want to host.”
The MWC and MSA have worked together since Thursday’s initial protest to continue to raise awareness and support of the Palestinians in Gaza. The groups have also moved off campus for several Nanaimo-wide protests to “end the genocide in Gaza” and for calls of a “ceasefire.”
Additionally, the MWC has kept a regular booth, Tuesday through Thursdays, since October 24th on campus in order to educate students and faculty alike.
The goal is to spread awareness and to “counter the idea that all Muslims are terrorists….We’re also people and this is what we’re actually about rather than what the media says,” Kishawi says.
