4 Jersey Muslim Women You Should Know
By Alaa Essafi
In honor of Women’s History Month, we have compiled a list of women who are making noteworthy efforts to uplift, educate, or unify our Muslim communities in New Jersey.
1. Afia Yunus
Afia Yunus is the principal attorney and founder of Yunus Law, a New Jersey and Philadelphia-based law firm specializing in Immigration and Nationality law. She is a board member on the Cherry Hill Human Relations Advisory Board and a South Jersey Leader for Faith in New Jersey (FINJ). Aside from her legal work, Afia is involved in community outreach to advocate for immigration rights, especially after the Muslim Ban. She is frequently a featured speaker on news panels and at workshops, as she is determined to ensure our communities remain informed of their rights. She says, “I believe knowledge is power, especially when it comes to your legal rights. Everyone right now, specifically Muslims, needs to know that they do have rights even if someone is telling them they don’t.” We couldn’t agree more.
“I believe knowledge is power, especially when it comes to your legal rights.”
2. Sanat Karkat
Sanat Karkat is an event organizer and activist who is currently the Northeast Regional Manager for Islamic Relief USA. She received her Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies from Kings College in the United Kingdom. She worked with the Sawa organization in Ramallah, Palestine as the Program Development Officer to design programs to aid marginalized communities across Palestine. Additionally, she was the first woman to be elected as an executive committee member for Deir Debwan Charity. She says, “I noticed that a lot of the spaces that I work in are male-dominated. I thrive at showcasing girl power at its finest while bringing my fellow sisters along to flex their muscle.” She is currently working on launching her first events management company, which will provide Muslim women an equal opportunity in a playing field where they have been eclipsed by their male counterparts.
““I thrive at showcasing girl power at its finest while bringing my fellow sisters along to flex their muscle.””
3. Rowaida Abdelaziz
Rowaida Abdelaziz is a reporter at HuffPost, where she covers Islamophobia and social justice issues that impact the Muslim-American communities. She has broken numerous stories from across the country. Some of her notable work includes documenting the challenges faced by Muslim womenexposing anti-Muslim employee discrimination in the workplace, and reporting on Islamophobic legislation and policies.
In 2016, Rowaida was a lead reporter for the Islamophobia Tracker, a project that documented the anti-Muslim rhetoric that spiked across the U.S. during the elections. Her recent piece, “When Swimming as a Muslim Woman Becomes a Political Act” shone a light on the struggles and backlash Muslim women endure on both a local and international level as a result of their choice to swim in modest swimwear.
What is the motivation and purpose behind your work?
I was drawn to journalism because of my hunger for change. I knew as a first-generation Muslim-Arab-American the real immediate impact media narratives had on my community. A lot of my current work requires trying to heal that trauma between the media and Muslims -- resulted from the decades of vilification.
It’s a lot for one person, especially since with that heightened visibility comes an increased amount of trolls, harassment, and hatred [from people] who attack me for what I do and who I am.
But it makes the reward so much more meaningful. Each time someone is able to point to a piece of my writing and say how that representation helped them, I’m motivated to endure the challenges and write more stories. Alhamdulilah [Thanks and Praise be to God], I’m also incredibly blessed to be surrounded by a supportive network of family, friends, and colleagues who help me do this work day in and day out.
“I was drawn to journalism because of my hunger for change.”
4. Tammy Elmansoury
Tammy Elmansoury was a history professor for over a decade, making it her personal mission to dispel misconceptions about Muslim women and promote an accurate understanding of Islamic history in her classroom. She graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in History and then went on to pursue her graduate studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in the History of Islam. For several years, she worked with the team that created HijabFest, which was an initiative to celebrate Muslim women who wear hijab. She currently serves as High School Division Head at Noor-Ul-Iman School in Central Jersey. Noor-Ul-Iman became the first Islamic school to be accepted into the High School Program at Princeton University and adopted a strong Islamic studies curriculum that has been approved by a number of reputable scholars across the country. She says, “My goal is to build up and strengthen an already excellent academic program while encouraging students to take pride in who they are as Muslims.”
“[My goal is to encourage] students to take pride in who they are as Muslims.”