Dr. Fahlman, who dedicated her life to public service, was a trailblazer for Muslim women in civic life. In 1971, she ran for public office on the New Democratic Party ticket in a federal election. Soon after completing her doctorate in educational psychology in the 1980s, Dr. Fahlman was elected to the Edmonton Public School Board, the first Muslim woman to sit on a school board in Canada. She founded CCMW in 1982.

The scholarship, which will be awarded annually, will be given to a Muslim woman student who is enrolled in a full-time degree (graduate or undergraduate), diploma or certificate program at a Canadian college or university. Preference will be given to those students enrolled in social science, education or communication programs.

At its 25th Anniversary conference last year, CCMW awarded its first Lila Fahlman scholarship to two Canadian Muslim women.

Through the generosity of community members, this year CCMW has added two new awards.

The scholarships to be offered in 2008 include:

• Muslim Women in Leadership Award, for which CCMW was able to secure funding through the work of Dr Nozhat Choudry and Saima Haider, will be awarded to Muslim women pursuing studies in media and the arts.
• Social Justice Award, sponsored by Hassan Law Office of London, Ontario
• The Lila Fahlman Scholarship, named after the late Dr. Lila Fahlman, founder of CCMW and renowned educator; sponsored by CCMW with a generous donation from Ash-Lee Maritime Inc, Fadumo Gurey and CCMW members and friends. Preference will be given to those students enrolled in social science, education or communication programs.

The scholarships will be awarded to Canadian Muslim women who are enrolled in a full-time undergraduate or graduate degree program, diploma or certificate programs at a Canadian college or university. At least one of the recipients of the Lila Fahlman scholarship will be a Muslim woman of African descent interested in health promotion and/or social justice.

The scholarships will be launched on April 20, 2008 at an afternoon tea fundraiser at the Old Mill Inn & Spa, 2 pm at Old Mill Inn &Spa, Brule C, 21 Old Mill Road , Toronto M8X 1G5 . The deadline for application is 18 July 2008. Award Recipients will be announced in early fall 2008.

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For more information on the scholarships visit ccmw.com or contact Salima Ebrahim at salimaebrahim@ gmail.com, (403) 891-8295. To find out more about the high tea fundraiser or to purchase tickets please contact Saima Hadier at (416) 356-8836 or Nozhat Choudhry at (647) 272-0887

TORONTO, March 28, 2008 - The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) has released a compendium of three research papers on the theme of Canadian Muslim Women at the Crossroads: From Integration to Segregation?

According to various studies by CCMW, Muslim women tend to be disengaged from civic and political life in Canada. Despite high levels of education, they are also more likely to be underemployed or absent from the labour force.

Some Muslim women have also expressed concerns about a movement within Muslim communities to segregate women and the growing acceptance of such segregation within Muslim communities in Canada.

At its 2006 annual conference in Ottawa CCMW explored the phenomenon of separation of Muslim women from mainstream society. Key to this exploration is a determination of how and why the separation may be occurring.

“We’re asking ourselves what’s causing this,” said Nuzhat Jafri, CCMW board member and author of the introduction to the compendium. “Is it systemic of self-imposed?”

Further discussions and thinking prompted CCMW to commission the three papers:

• Cultural Relativism: Theoretical, Political and Ideological Debates by Shahrzad Mojab and Nadeen El-Kassem;
• Islam and Decision Making: the Effects of Religion and Family in Muslim Women’s Lives by Gökçe Yrdakul; and
• Multitudes of Solitudes? Canadian Muslim Women and Rising Religiosity by Eman Ahmed.

The authors, well known for their work on women in the Diaspora, gender, politics and religion, provide wide-ranging and provocative findings and observations. They move us from a theoretical discussion to very practical issues of day-to-day lives facing Canadian Muslim women.

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For more information, contact Eman Ahmed at ccmw_board@yahoo.ca or (416) 225-4322., or visit www.ccmw.com.