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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
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.