Emina Bektić embraced her faith after high school and now she’s guiding students to do the same, in a safe space with an emphasis on mental health.
Muslim Youth Empowerment is a new program aiming to foster positive mental health outcomes for Muslim students within the Upper Grand District School Board.
It started in September and sees 20 to 40 students from Guelph CVI and Centennial CVI bi-weekly. Initially it was supposed to be 10 meetings but as the months went on students kept asking if Bektić, the program director, was coming to join them on Fridays at lunch so it continued.
The students are mainly from the schools’ Muslim student associations but other Muslim students are welcome to join.
Bektić hosts workshops about the principles of the program, which are; the values of Islam, youth engagement, community outreach, cultural sensitivity and mental health and wellness.
A safe space for students to talk about their experiences and microaggressions they face, is something Bektić wishes she had as a student at GCVI eight years ago.
At the time she didn’t wear a hijab and normalized being non-Muslim for herself because she didn’t have Muslim friends at school. She didn’t tell people she was Muslim unless they asked and thought it was embarrassing if she started practicing her faith openly.
If her school had a Muslim student association she would have felt like she could be herself. “Because my identity as a Muslim is my entire identity. That’s my way of life that shapes who I am today,” said Bektić.
There are things specific to religion and culture that may be difficult to explain. Wearing a hijab isn’t just about covering hair. “That’s probably the one per cent of the entirety of why we do it, and that it’s not to oppress us, but rather to empower us,” said Bektić.
She’s there to help students when they are stereotyped by listening and working through it.
“Let’s navigate those different feelings and emotions that you have, specifically as a Muslim, that you’re not able to talk about, especially in the public school, for example or in your community where it’s predominantly non-Muslims,” said Bektić.
In December she led students through a role-playing exercise for when a peer asks them to Christmas dinner. One of the strategies is to explain the similarities between Christianity and Islam but also how Christmas and Eid are celebrated at different times.
The annual Iftar event at Centennial, where people break their fast, was turned into a fundraiser by students in the empowerment program. It fundraised for Islamic Relief Canada, a charity that provides aid in war-torn countries and supports orphans.
At GCVI it’s starting a food drive so students can have access to free food.
She has seen character development in the students and their confidence build. At the start of the program most of the students were shy and didn’t want to talk but they have come around to share their feelings.
Bektić hopes there is a decrease in absenteeism in school and the program gives students a reason to show up.
She wants Muslim Youth Empowerment to expand to other high schools and elementary schools.
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