Not safe in public: how racism impacts on Muslim women

The impacts of the Cronulla riot and the violence and discrimination being directed at Muslim women will be discussed at a public forum, Gender, Race and Public Space, being held on Thursday (23 March) at the University of Technology, Sydney.

The forum, involving speakers from community organisations and university researchers, will examine how racism manifests in public places and how Muslim women are often the most obvious and most vulnerable targets of abuse.

It will also look at the Sutherland community's response to the Cronulla riot and the efforts to heal the rift caused by the initial wave of violence and the reprisals that followed.

Dr Tanja Dreher of UTS, who last year produced a report showing that violence and verbal abuse in NSW rose significantly in the months following the US 2001 September 11 attacks, said the forum would not forget a root cause of the marginalisation of Muslim Australians, the so-called "War on Terror".

Speakers include: Maha Krayem Abdo and Wafa Zaim from the United Muslim Women Association; Jenny Grey, Migrant Services Coordinator for the Gymea Community Aid and Information Service (Sutherland Shire); Hadijat Lawal from Illawarra Multicultural Services, UTS academics Professor Stephanie Donald and Associate Professor Heather Goodall and Dr Scott Poynting from the University of Western Sydney.

The forum launches a monthly seminar series, "Sanctuary and Security", part of an Australian Research Council funded project on Muslim Women's Networks in Contemporary Australia.

Tuesday 21 March 2006