Empowering Muslim Girls – Fatema's Story

Fatema first heard about the Women’s Insight Project in a community WhatsApp group. What began as a simple message quickly became an invitation she couldn’t ignore – an opportunity to support Muslim girls growing up in the Lower Mainland.

She understood the pressures many Muslim women and girls navigate. Many had grown up within patriarchal environments where public spaces and opportunities were often dominated by men, and where girls were rarely encouraged to take risks.

Fatema joined the Women’s Insight Project with a clear belief: Muslim girls deserve safe, culturally appropriate spaces to try new things, build skills, and grow their confidence.

From that belief, the Muslimah Empowerment Society began to take shape: not as a program on a shelf, but as a response to a longing in the community.

Turning Insight Into Community

The Women’s Insight Project (WIP) offered Fatema something she had never experienced in a formal way before: training, trust, and a framework to turn a community need into a structured initiative. Through WIP, she completed modules in the Sustainable Development Goals, budgeting, community research, and facilitation – and, most importantly, received the support needed to put those skills into action.

For Fatema, this trust was transformative. Donors and mentors were willing to invest in a group of mothers and give them the freedom to build something meaningful for their communities. That confidence in their leadership strengthened her sense of responsibility and possibility.

Throughout the program, between 20 and 25 girls participated in a wide range of activities, including kayaking, canoeing, mini-golf, rock climbing, arts workshops, public speaking, self-defence, leadership sessions, and community service days such as food distribution and park clean-ups.

The Women’s Insight Project did not create Fatema’s leadership – it simply provided the structure, training, and trust needed to amplify the strengths she already carried.

Mothers’ Wisdom, Leading the Way

Fatema’s story is not an exception – it’s a powerful example of what happens when mothers are given the tools to lead.

Every day, mothers across Canada carry insights shaped by lived experience – insights about safety, identity, belonging, mental health, and what it means for girls to grow up with confidence. And like Fatema, they often know exactly what their communities need. What’s missing is the support and infrastructure to turn those insights into sustainable programs.

Launching in 2026, the Social Innovation Studio will be Canada’s first national hub, where mothers’ lived experiences become the foundation of research, program design, and systems change.

We’ve seen what happens when mothers lead. The Muslimah Empowerment Society was just one seed – planted by Fatema, nurtured through the Women’s Insight Project, and grown into a vibrant space for connection, confidence and empowerment. 

Imagine a space where the support that helped Fatema thrive is available to mothers in every community. Where dozens, hundreds, thousands more Mothers-in-Residence can develop their ideas into community-rooted solutions – and scale them into programs offered across the country.

This is the future we are creating – one where mothers’ wisdom drives innovation, policy, and community change. And we need your help to make it a reality.

Seeding Mother-Led Innovation

This December, help us raise the first $50,000 needed to bring the Social Innovation Studio to life. When you invest in mothers’ leadership, you don’t just help one family – you spark community solutions that last for generations.

Give today. 

Power the leadership of mothers.

Because when mothers thrive, children flourish and communities prosper.

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