I hosted an iftar event that would highlight Muslim communities in the SLA and Ben Franklin schools. This was also open to non-Muslim students and students outside of the schools. Hosting an Iftar event (I named it Hadath Iftar) during Ramadan fit best with all the Muslims participating in the holy month of Ramadan. I reserved the SLA cafeteria and gym while I also served food free of charge. I was hosting this event not only to allow others to enjoy some good food but also for the smaller parts of SLA’s diverse community to see each other eye to eye. The process of hosting this event strengthened my skills in collaboration. I have collaborated with teachers, students, and my principal to make this all happen. It’s what truly made the process of the project go smoother. I also strengthened my planning skills and became an active leader in my community. I have always been determined to lead my community and bring more diversity to the already diverse SLA community. My proudest takeaway from this project is the time and effort I put into the final product. I made sure this was my greatest project with all the help and resilience that was put into it.

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VUD0XCT7O8HIYonnOcypR5JolXN-rCAUddHW5Qwbvk4/edit?usp=sharing

My map is the journey of the symbolic meaning of the pistol and “the good guys”. My map leads you through the different scenes in the book that shows when these concepts were introduced to us as readers and later expanded on their meaning. The quotes are used as labels to help guide the scene in the book that corresponds with the symbolic meaning being shown. The symbolic element used in “The Road” was an aspect of the book that McCarthy would plant and make grow as the story moved along. In the beginning of the book when we are introduced to the pistol, the first meaning we get from this is that it is used for survival. Then later down the line, we begin to see that it represents death, its importance and prevalence being a foundation for the father and son. The pistol was used for protection, to teach the boy what to do if he is caught by “bad guys” (to shoot himself), and to symbolize power. The idea of “good guys” is shown to us when McCarthy reveals to us that the father and son use the phrase “we carry the fire” various times to represent that they are the good guys in this mischievous world. I focused on the symbolism of the pistol and good guys because they both contradict each other. The father tells the boy that they are the good guys, but the boy holds more empathy compared to the father who has matched himself to the cold world. An example of this would be when the boys and father got their cart stolen. They found the thief and the gun was used as a threat, and symbolized death and fear. The father didn’t shoot the man as he got the cart back but ordered him to get undressed and take his clothes. How does this make them the good guys if people in the same predicament as them are doing what they would do? Stealing is morally wrong, but as the world is home, morals dissolve as well. The notion of good guys and the symbolic meaning it has played within the story can be questioned with the symbolic meaning of the pistol and the value it holds throughout the novel.

Me and My Husband by Mitski

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGCL3icu9dk

In this song, Mitski begins to describe her life with her “husband” and how she keeps saying “They are doing better”. Mitski emphasizes how they are doing better and will stick with each other. I connected this song to the scene of Ofreed being offered a glittery dress with feathers and makeup. She had to dress outside of her regular handmaid uniform and dress in clothing from the time before. “We glide through the darkening streets. The Commander has hold of my right hand as if we’re teenagers at the movies. I clutch the sky blue cape tightly about me, as a good wife should” (232). Offred in this quote said “as a good wife should” and not “would”. As the reader this made me question how she sees the commander and how she sees herself with him. ”And I’m the idiot with the painted face In the corner, taking up space. But when he walks in, I am loved, I am loved” Mitksi “Me and My Husband”.

These lyrics remind me of the scene when she is blended in the background like everyone else. All the women there wore outfits that weren’t allowed in Gilead and the “Husband” can represent the commander when Offred was given the blue cape and “held it tight like a good wife” and he was “showing her off”. I don’t think she sees herself as a wife to him but more so she fits into the role of a degenerate wife.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Remastered 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy709iNG6i8

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John represents the secret resistance the handmaids have in the system of Gilead. It is shown to the reader that there is a system called “Mayday”, an organization of handmaids that collaborates to find a sense of freedom in their oppressed environment. “There has to be an ‘us’. Because there is a ‘them’ now.” Ofglen introduced Mayday to Offred and this new door of hope opened for her. She was yearning for this feeling of an “us” with the handmaids now. It’s the beginning of building sisterhood and they’re gonna be working together to grab their freedom. In the song “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, it says “I should have listened to my old man You know you can’t hold me forever I didn’t sign up with you I’m not a present for your friends to open This boy’s too young to be singin’ the blues”. The lyrics represented to me a feeling of resistance and a door of freedom being opened. “I’m not a present for your friends to open” can also be related to when in Jezebels, the commander was showing her off in her shiny revealing dress to other men in power. “You know you can’t hold me forever” also represents a feeling of hope, that there will be a way out. “Mayday” and “Underground Female Railroad” are people collaborating (handmaids and those that are helping handmaids) and are symbols plotted in the story that gives Offred the strength to not give up.

Watching Him Fade Away

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8cFcSq4EIs

“Watching Him Fade Away” by Mac DeMarco represents Offred and Luke drifting away from each other, mentally. Since the story is told from Offred’s point of view, the idea of Luke is dying down and she begins seeing her lover in other people. Offred starts using words such as “was”, representing what she is talking about left in the past. She catches herself and corrects it to “is”, representing the present time. “How long were you supposed to mourn, and what did they say? Make your life a tribute to the loved one. And he was, loved. One. Is, I say. Is, is, only two letters, you stupid shit, can’t you manage to remember it, even a short word like that?” 227. From this quote, the reader can see that Offred keeps referring people in her past that she carded for dearly as “was” and not “is”. The word choice as holds a strong meaning in Attwood’s literacy. “Walk around as if you never cared in the first place. But if you never call, you’ll end up stuck. Without another chance to tell him off right to his face”. Breaking down these lyrics, I connected this to Offred and Luke’s relationship because Offred is forced to wear this expression on her face. She can’t show all the emotions she’s going through, and despite her worrying about Luke, she has to walk around like she doesn’t care about him. But she can’t live that life to a full extent because she still does worry about him. Also when she constructs sentences that consist of playing with the words “was” and “is”, the feeling of being “stuck” that Mac says in his lyrics connects to Offred being in the middle of those two words. If she gives up the of hope that she can see Luke again, she will be stuck. “Without another chance to tell him off right to his face”, when referencing Luke she should refer to him with “is” and not “was” to keep his spirit alive and to keep that hope alive.

In “The Handmaid’s Tale”, we are introduced to the teachings of Aunt Lydia that she drills into the handmaid’s head. In chapter 19, we see Aunt Lydia expressing to the girls how women are the problem in our society. Especially the women in the “time before”. She would claim that they had too much freedom and didn’t want to follow the words of God. She sees it as her job to save these women from their world of freedom. In chapter 19 on page 114 it says, “A thing is valued, she says, only if it is rare and hard to get. We want you to be valued, girls. She is rich in pauses, which she saves in her mouth. Think of yourselves as pearls. We, sitting in our rows, eyes down, we make her salivate morally. We are hers to define, we must suffer her adjectives. I think about pearls. Pearls are congealed oyster spit”. When I first read this, I began to break the quote down and analyze this section. Aunt Lydia’s claim of being valued only if you save or protect yourself from being free is a claim I disagreed with. As people, we should oppress ourselves to be treated with mutual respect or to be seen as valuable. I relate to Offred in this moment because many Muslim scholars would make their ideas about Islam and compare Muslim women to candy. The more it’s covered, the more you are willing to go for the candy. But if it is uncovered and has dirt and hair on it, you would not go for the candy. They are trying to say that the Muslim women in Islam who don’t cover up are not valuable compared to those who do cover up. In many religions, modesty falls on women a lot. In Islam, it states both men AND women have to dress modestly but the women are always getting attacked if not. It also raised a question, why are women compared to objects when it comes to trying to compare our value? Personally, as a woman who does cover up for her religion and God, I do not appreciate being compared to being a candy that’s wrapped. As for the women who may not dress like me and follow the same religion, being compared to an unwrapped candy will only push them further away and discourage them. As everyone has their own paths. “Suffer in her adjectives” (114). It’s very easy to take wording from a religious book, make an adjective out of it and the meaning is completely lost. I really liked how this quote showed us how taking the word of God can be manipulated and cause the view on religion to be seen in an oppression view. They may think making it oppressive will have people listen, for example, stripping the handmaids of their freedom of everything. But it only causes more pushback towards those ideas.

In the time before, Offred’s mom would protest for women’s rights, whereas Serena Joy was the opposite and would advocate that women should be traditional wives.“Freedom to choose. Every baby wanted a baby, to recapture our body. Do you believe a woman’s place is on the kitchen table?” (120). This quote resonates with me because women are still fighting for RIGHTS in this country. Just thinking about it is appalling and something we as a country too need to fix immediately. I connected this to Serena Joy because she advocated that women stay home and they should fit the “Traditional Wife” standard. Now with Gilead in place, Serena does absolutely nothing but be a trophy wife without the case. She is simply a woman with the title “wife”. The handmaids, Martha’s, and Econowives have more importance to Gilead than she does. “She wasn’t singing anymore by then, she was making speeches. She was good at it. Her speeches were about the sanctity of the home, and about how women should stay home. Serena Joy didn’t do this herself, she made speeches instead, but she presented this failure of hers as a sacrifice she was making for the good of all”(14). Serena Joy to me is seen as hypocritical. She was working and giving speeches about how women shouldn’t work and express their voices. She is now in the world she advocated for and is merely a person with a title. She searches for entitlement, for example in the living room before the ceremony. “The sitting room is supposed to be Serena Joy’s territory, he’s supposed to ask permission to enter it.”(86). Despite this claim, he walked in anyway. Serena Joy advocated for her rights to be taken away and now that they are gone, she is scrapping for pieces of entitlement in a world she advocated for

Comparing women to an object to represent their value, women having to fight for their basic rights, and women putting down the rights of their gender, are all under the umbrella of misogyny. It’s a system of women being oppressed no matter the circumstances, whether it’s from a religious lens, women vs women, or in a dystopian world called Gilead.

On my l[ast slate post] (https://scienceleadership.org/blog/misrepresentation_of_muslim_women_in_the_media) the misrepresentation of muslim women in the media, I have learned many new things on my issue. Muslim women have been the main target of “representation” when it comes to adding a muslim charter to a show and they shove all these negative stereotypes and display them on television, as if its normal. Muslim women have been given such an unfair outlook on their appearance [(hijab)] ( https://www.google.com/search?q=hijab&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS943US944&oq=hijab&aqs=chrome..69i57j0j0i433l3j0j0i433j0j0i457j0i433.4239j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) the religion they follow (being oppressed/terrorist) To raise awareness of my topic, I have reached out to social media and news blogs to bet their thoughts and options on this. As media platforms that many people follow, how are they trying to fix this? One media platform that i contacted was [MuslimGirl] (https://muslimgirl.com/) , an organization that is full of muslim women to empower them and others around them. I have emailed them but sadly have not received an email back. I have taken matters sito my own hands and decided to post about my topic on my own instagram page and hear what the public had to say. I made a google form and also interview some of my muslim women mutuals on instagram. Two of them decided to stay anonymous and the other decided to share theory name and school. This was a big highlight to the project because i wanted the project to have the voices of muslim women speaking up. I could easily sit here and write on why this ain’t right at all but other voices added to mine makes everything more powerful. In order to change these ways, is to do research., simple. To satop with the negative stereotype and to actually dive in and do research on muslim women. Wight Islam being the fastest growing religion at the moment, it should be hard for movie directors or bloggers to do some research and let their research on muslims be from muslims themselves, especially if its on muslim women. I wanted to pursue bringing this topic more into the light and to have people take it more seriously. Over the years muslim women have been seen as oppressed, we are not pressed by Islam we are oppressed by the negative stereotypes that the media has created for us. I wanted my Agent of Change to be something that would give this topic more exposure. Many women empowerment groups have spoken about this but they only get spoken about for a week then forgotten. My experience when doing this project was really interesting. My original idea was to email MuslimGirl and set up an interview with them but I sadly didn’t get an email back. I later made a presentation that I linked to an article I wrote. I was able to have it published in our school advisory memo! I also posted about it on my Instagram and many people saw it I was effective in making change by doing the first step: giving the problem or topic exposure. Making sure people knew that this was a problem shouldn’t be normalized. I knew stopping film industries from doing this harm would take A LOT of work so I took the first step, which is also a huge step. I felt very happy doing this project because I am very passionate when it comes to the rights of muslim women or women in general ( especially WOC). I feel like iot s aspace where i know what i am talking about and know how to get it done I learned from others that they feel as if speaking on big topics like this won’t change nothing burn from seeing all the nreposting i have done on my social media platforms, they have decided to finally share their thoughts and opinions which is helping this project, so they are also making a change! I learned about myself that I have a lot to say on this topic and could easily use my own opinions but I decided to listen to others and get their thoughts.I feel like I could have presented this much better. Originally this was supposed to be an advisory presentation but I was irresponsible and kept forgetting to ask and it was too late, but I found a way to make it work. What’s left now is to eliminate the negative stereotypes of muslim women in the media and listen to their voices instead of trusting anything you see or hear. We have voices that need to be heard.

(Mira Young a junior at SLA replied with this under my story)

Oppressed? Terrorist? Women with no rights? The twin towers? All these words have been associated with Muslims for many years, especially Muslim women that wear the hijab. The cloth that they wear on their heads have been given so many negative meanings to it, people would rather be blinded by the media and ignore the meaning of the word hijab. When we think of the word hijab, we would usually think of a scarf a muslim women would wear, which is correct. But the word hijab applies to both men and women that practice Islam to be modest and control their gaze. As the world is very misogynistic, men that dont wear their “hijab” get a pass and don’t get shamed while women do. The stereotype of “oppressed Muslim women” came from the media mixing up culture and religion together. For example, there are cultural places in the middle east that have laws for women to cover their body, those are the places that are seen as the symbol of Islam.Many cultures have a part in making Islam look “bad” or “ unfair”. Many cultural practices dont even fall into Islam and would be considered a sin.

I chose this topic because it’s one that I’ve always been interested in and doesn’t get enough attention. Especially as a Muslim women that decided to wear my hijab, I can’t stand for the wrongful ways the media has portrayed my religion, especially the women. We already live in a sexist and misogynistic world and seeing muslim women be the symbol of oppression isn’t fair. Fun fact actually Islam was he first religion and group of people to give women rights before the Europeans did. Culture and religion have been mixed up and falsely represented in the world. Muslim populated countries usually run on culture more than religion, like for example have laws for women to dress modestly. Even if tourists come they would need to cover their bodies. Why? To respect the culture that was made by the people that are following Islam. Now here’s the bad side, the media (specifically streaming networks like Netflix) Have made it seem as if the hijab is an oppressive tool used against muslim women. The scarf that they wear on their heads are “strict” or “passive”. But you see, the hijab for most women is seen as powerful, inspiring, and amazing! But we will always be put into [the three categories of being oppressed, veiled and the worst of all homogenous.] ( https://muslimgirl.com/watch-dismantling-the-mainstream-medias-image-of-the-muslim-woman/)
‘Now It’s a Sign of Protest:’ Muslim Women in Denmark Defy the Face Veil Ban

And its not only the media that plays a part of this bad face of Women in Islam to be known to all, its also the beauty sense and different ways people believe women should be like. A girl from Palestine or Nigeria could be forced to wear her hijab while someone who loves their hijab moves to the USA and is pressured to take it off. “Take it off you’ll look better that way” or “Put it on and you’ll be seen as more prettier”. People have taken the meaning of the hijab and made as if it’s something to throw around. Muslim girls that choose to wear it know that it was the biggest decision in their life. There are some that took it off but still respect it while others would bash it because they felt oppressed. But they are reminded it was because of CULTURE not RELIGION.

Watching Tv and Movies everyone should know that at least one show they watched had a muslim lady (Most likely arab and black hijab) having a bomb. Or taking off her scarf to feel free. Yes many muslim women take off their scarves but thats for their life journey. Tv shows would make removing the hijab a sign of freedom aka being able to run away from a strict family and live life with her dream white boy. For example, the Netflix original show [“The Elite”] (https://nwhsjagwire.org/showcase/showcase-showcase/2019/12/08/misrepresentation-of-muslims-in-hollywood/) has a character named Nadia Shanna that removes her hijab for the sake of her lover Guzman. There is no problem with Muslim woman taking off their scarf for themselves but I will forever have an issue with media companies believing its okay to think that I would remove my scarf to feel free with a white man. They are showing a lot of “White savior” complexes on screens, saving her from being oppressed. Islam is the second biggest and growing religion in the world and stereotypes like this are still being spread and damaging the way women in my religion are seen.

I don’t have to show my hair or body to feel empowered or be a “#girlboss” I already am one. [Modesty empowers] ( https://theconversation.com/how-muslim-women-break-stereotypes-by-mixing-faith-and-modesty-with-fashion-110767) and I see beauty in my religion and faith and strive to strengthen that. I am not oppressed. I am not a terrorist. No I did not bomb the twin towers. I am a Muslim women looking and fighting for the proper rights and representations in the media, because for I am tired of being seen as less than.

Doing research for this project was definitely fun to me surprisingly and kind of saddened me. I always thought Islam was being seen as an oppressive religion was an “All muslim” problem but it mainly focused on the women in Islam. Before they talk about the men its always being talked about the headscarves, the way we dress, or our face coverings, being seen as bad, scary, and un-american. I would like to learn more about why people think like this? Why does me wearing a scarf scare people so much? Why are you scared of a piece of cloth on my head? Is the media going to change the way of how Islam is seen since it’s the second biggest religion in the world? Don’t they think it deserves more respect to its title? As my research proceeds to grow, I hope to find more answers to these intriguing questions.

Hola, yo soy Fanta. Mi familia está formada por gente divertida y creativa. Tengo cinco hermanas. Tengo tantos tíos y tías, pero tengo siete tías cercanas y cinco tíos cercanos. También tengo muchos primos. En mi casa, hay mi mamá, papá, y cinco hermanas. Mi tia tiene la piel más clara que yo. Mi tia tiene el pelo corto y rizado. Ella es alta. Ella tiene cuatro niñas y es enfermera. Ella también tiene ojos marrones. Ella es muy divertida y amable. Ella es como una segunda madre para miSu mayor rasgo de personalidad es hacer sonreír a los demás y dar buenos consejos. Mi hermana es Ella tiene corto y rizado. Mi hermana es gordita y baja. Ella es muy activa y burbujeante. Ella tiene ojos marrones y cabello castaño.

Soy alta y delgada. Tengo ojos marrones. Tengo el pelo mediano y rizado y negra. Soy bueno haciendo bromas y cuidando si los niños. Yo soy alta y guapa. Yo soy responsable y simpática.

Mi hermana y yo tenemos el pelo rizado. Ambos somos activos y tenemos personalidades brillantes. Nuestra diferencia es que ella es baja y yo alta. Yo soy mayor y ella es más joven. Ella tiene seis y yo quince.

When creating my poem, I sat on my bed, the place where I spent majority of my 2020 year. It was at night when the idea struck me that I should do a poem since I have a nice interest into that type of literature. Every thought and feeling I could pull from my brain of how 2020 went made its way onto my computer as I typed. Struggling with mental health, BLM movements, and of course the pandemic. As a teen I have a lot going on for me and the world most likely already has one story stereotypes on teens. We have a voice that needs to be heard by everyone. From ideas of how to fix schools to how to help our community. We can stand hand in hand (Figuratively because of the pandemic) and help our world with each step we take. But for that to happen we need everyone’s voice heard. My poem relates to the theme of being a teen in the year of 2020 because during quarantine a lot of people changed and a lot of teens have either become mature or struggling with mental health problems. It also talks about the BLM movement within this year and how as teens we can help. Overall, my poem shows that as teens we should not be overlooked because we can do so much more than what others think