DIGITAL ANTI-RACISM EDUCATION (DARE) PROJECT - PHASE 1 & 2
CCMW’s national Digital Anti-Racism Education (DARE) Project, aimed at raising awareness about online hate and Islamophobia by empowering racialized women, girls and allies with resources and tools to counter hate to #DeleteRacism. Islamophobia is one form of discrimination in Canada that contributes to Muslim women’s and girls’ experiences of safety in public and online spaces. However, there is very little education available on how to respond and effectively counter offline & online hate and extremism. CCMW’s Digital Anti-Racism Education (DARE) Project (Phase 1 & 2) funded by the Government of Canada, is a unique and significant initiative to respond to hate online.
Phase One of the DARE Project (August 2019 to April 2020) aimed at increasing the digital capacity of racialized women and girls. As part of the Project, two e-learning modules, including ‘Racism 101’ and ‘Countering Cyberhate 101,’ were developed and CCMW Board, staff, Chapter members and volunteers received training on countering hate and extremism online. A creative #DARETOBEAWARE social media campaign was launched in October 2020 followed by an in-person DARE Launch event held in Toronto in January 2020.
Expanding on Phase One, the DARE2 Project, aimed at better understanding how Islamophobia further marginalizes racialized women and girls, using an intersectional lens. The project helped bring out stories of marginalization and racism as experienced by Black and Indigenous Muslim women and girls, queer Muslim women and girls, Frencophone Muslim women and girls & Muslim women and girls living with diverse abilities. An effective anti-Islamophobia e-learning module was developed, and virtual training workshops held across Canada to better understand the harmful effects of online hate and how to counter cyberhate effectively. In 2021-22 60 workshops were held across the country and approximately 4000 individuals trained.
Phase 2 also helped develop a series of online videos, sharing stories and expriences of hate, racism and Islamophobia impacting racialized Muslim women and girls. These videos were part of an anti-hate social media campaign #Hate2Healing, which launched during Islamic Heritage Month in October 2021. The bilingual campaign had a global reach and represented diverse intersectional identities with strong narratives highlighting gendered Islamophobia and the lived experiences of Muslim Women and girls identifying as black, Francophone, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI and those living with diverse abilities.
To engage with the DARE Project and help #DeleteRacism please email: firdaus.ali@ccmw.com.
The DARE Project illustrations were coloured and created by Hana Shafi.
Hana Shafi is a writer and artist who illustrates under the name Frizz Kid. Known on Instagram for her weekly affirmation series, she is also the recipient of the Women Who Inspire Award from the Canadian Council of Muslim Women. Her first book, It Begins With The Body, was selected by CBC Books as one of their best poetry books for 2018.
About the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW)
CCMW is national, charitable organization dedicated to the equality, equity and empowerment of all Muslim women in Canada. Established in 1982, CCMW’s Mission is to affirm the identities of Canadian Muslim women and promote their lived experiences through community engagement, public policy, stakeholder engagement and amplified awareness of the social injustices that Muslim women and girls endure in Canada, while advocating for their diverse needs and equipping local CCMW chapters with the necessary resources to maximize national efforts and mobilize local communities to join the movement. For more information, visit: www.ccmw.com
The Digital Anti-Racism Education (DARE) phase 1 and phase 2 projects were funded by the Government of Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage.
