Amra Pajalic is hoping to change the stereotypical view people have of Muslim women. 69567 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
BY NATALIE GALLENTI
A ST ALBANS resident is trying to break down the public’s perception of a typical Muslim woman.
Amra Pajalic, of Bosnian heritage, is fed up with what she believes is the constant depiction of Muslim women as subordinate and hidden from society.
The novelist co-wrote a book that was launched earlier this year titled ‘What a Muslim Woman Looks Like’, in the hope people would be able to identify and see Muslim women for who they are and not what they wear.
“The focus is always on people who abuse the Australian way of life,” Ms Pajalic said.
“But we never see the success stories.
“What we’re trying to say is even though a woman is covered, you do not know what she is like underneath.
“I mean who are they hurting? What are they doing to you?
“Don’t people come to Australia to have freedom?”
Ms pajalic said women who decide to wear a headdress were doing it as an expression of their spirituality and many had converted to Islam.
The book was a result of the Muslim Women Leadership Training program Brimbank Council hosted last year.
Now, the mother will talk on a women’s panel with her fellow author Demet Divaroren, about the book and the benefits of workshops she attended during the program, as part of the Brimbank Literary Festival.
Ms Pajalic said the most important message in the book was that Muslim women were like anyone else, regardless of whether they wore a veil or not.
She said the book, which featured 12 women from various walks of life, illustrated the many faces of women.
“A Muslim woman is more than a religion, a colour, a dress code. A Muslim woman is a mother buttering toast for her two boys in the morning; she’s a fashion designer chasing her dream; a professional who prays in the first-aid room; a student of kung fu; and a single mother studying to empower herself and inspire her children,” the book states.
Ms Pajalic said she had already received a tremendous response from the community and the publication would be used as an educational resource for schools.
The panel will be held on Wednesday 14 September from 6.30pm to 7.30pm at AMES, 16 Victoria Square, Victoria Crescent, St Albans. For bookings call 9366 0433.
