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PUBLIC TESTIMONY

Testimony by Maryam Shuaib, Representative from Malikah, on Muslim Women's Access to Public Pools and Water Safety

1:33:27

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3 min

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Maryam Shuaib, representing Malikah, a nonprofit organization protecting Muslim women, testified about the discrimination and challenges Muslim women face in accessing public pools and beaches in NYC.

She highlighted a recent incident of Islamophobia at Astoria pool and emphasized the need for more than just cultural sensitivity training to address these issues.

Shuaib mentioned two Muslim women, Zainab and Aisha Mohammad, who drowned at Coney Island Beach, emphasizing the importance of water safety for all communities.
She stressed that Muslim women often feel ostracized and unwelcome at pools due to their choice of attire, which affects their ability to learn essential swimming skills.
Shuaib called for more inclusive policies and a change in mindset regarding what is considered appropriate swimwear for Muslim women.

Maryam Shuaib

1:33:27

Thank you, counsel member, Shafer Krishnan.

1:33:29

I would also like to emphasize that.

1:33:31

I'm also a member of your district, so Nice to see you in person.

1:33:36

I would also like to reemphasize the situation that was brought by council member Tiffany Keban and also wanted to shout out Tiffany Keban for her presence online.

1:33:46

Thank you for representing us.

1:33:48

As a representative from the Medica Center, we are a nonprofit organization that is specifically tethered to protecting women, more specifically Muslim women, and the situation that was brought to light by council member, Koban, resulted from a Muslim woman that wanted to take her eight year old son out to the Astoria pool just for a day to relieve themselves from the heat.

1:34:12

And only was she denied entry, but in addition to that, she was all so bolstered with a lot of islamophobic comments coming from one of these staff members that called her quote unquote crazy for her beliefs as a woman who should look different than what is advertised on the guidelines that they had for appropriate swimwear.

1:34:32

So I would like to take this time to also emphasize that 2 of the 7 deaths that occurred this past summer were Zainab and Aisha, Muhammad, 2 Muslim women, who were at Kony Island Beach, who are both beacons of selflessness to their respective communities.

1:34:49

Both Zena and Ayesha had dreams to pursue a future in the medical field, one as a pharmacist and the other as a future doctor.

1:34:57

So, unfortunately, we have lost both of those.

1:35:00

Prospects from our communities.

1:35:03

But I would like to emphasize that we need more than just cultural sensitivity training.

1:35:08

We need more than just signage that amplifies the specific guidelines of acceptable wear to those to the pools across the across the city.

1:35:21

And I as a Muslim woman who also doesn't know how to swim, I don't know how to swim because pools are not a safe environment for me, and I feel that I am ostracized just for my simple choice of looking differently than the, I guess, the conventional look of what a woman should wear to a pool.

1:35:39

I feel like just because I wear my hijab that I am looked at as someone who does not deserve the right to know how to swim, which is a very, very imperative survival tactic that everyone should know about, but unfortunately, I don't.

1:35:51

And I would also like to emphasize that we need more than just cultural sensitivity training because these are some of public comments, are the result of a rather narrow mindset that people have about what a most of the moment should look like while she is taking a dip in the pool.

1:36:04

Or let alone watching one of her children take a dip in the pool.

1:36:08

And I would also like to emphasize that as a woman's safety organization, Medica is committed to guaranteeing the rights of all women more so most of women, and when a most of women does not feel welcome at one of our city's oldest pools, then that is a line where that we draw.

1:36:24

And I thank you, Council member, Shaker, Krishnan, for a leading

Shekar Krishnan

1:36:29

sorry.

1:36:29

I'd say you could touch it.

Maryam Shuaib

1:36:30

Thanks.

1:36:31

I just wanted to thank you for all the work that you've been doing to address this crisis that we have.

1:36:36

We should not be scared for our lives when we go to enjoy ourselves in a beach or in a pool.

1:36:41

And furthermore, most of the moment should not be scared to take up the freedom to take a swim in a pool.

1:36:46

And I shouldn't be dictated as to, like I I shouldn't be criminalized just because I choose to wear a head covering to the pool.

1:36:53

And that's my comments.

1:36:54

Thank you for giving me the space.

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