Faith, culture, and sexual health: Two leaders share how they’re changing the conversation in Muslim communities.

In this episode, I sit down with Nadiah Mohajir and Sahar Pirzada, leaders from Heart, an organization focused on advancing sexual health and reproductive justice within Muslim communities. Nadiah shares her personal story, growing up in a South Asian Muslim family, and how it led her to start Heart. She talks about the cultural and religious barriers women face regarding sexual health and gender-based violence, and how Heart is working to create safe, open spaces for these crucial conversations.

Sahar, who’s been with the organization for nearly a decade, reflects on her journey from teaching sex education in Singapore to leading grassroots movements at Heart. Together, they dive into the complexities of addressing sexual health in faith-based communities, highlighting the importance of centering marginalized voices, such as queer and trans Muslims.

They also introduce their latest reproductive justice campaign, which aims to provide Muslims with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed decisions about their health, all while staying true to their faith. Tune in for a conversation that blends faith, community, and health in a refreshing and insightful way.

Highlights:

Nadiah’s upbringing in a traditional South Asian Muslim family and her path to founding Heart.
Sahar’s experience bringing sex education to Muslim communities and advocating for reproductive justice.
The unique challenges of tackling gender violence and sexual health in faith-based communities.
Heart's new reproductive justice campaign and its efforts to empower Muslim women and marginalized groups.
How the organization blends Islamic values with public health education to offer holistic support.

Nadiah’s Bio:

Nadiah Mohajir is a lifelong Chicagoan, Pakistani-American-Muslim, mother of three, public health professional, reproductive justice activist, and anti-sexual assault advocate.

She is the Co-founder and Executive Director for HEART Women & Girls. For over a decade, she has led the organization to provide reproductive justice, sexual health education and gender-based violence awareness programming and advocacy to thousands of individuals, organizations, and campuses across the country. HEART ultimately aims to dismantle the stigma, silence, and systems that prevent individuals from seeking information, healing, and justice.

Nadiah has worked in public health and reproductive justice for over twenty years in a variety of settings, including, but not limited to research, academics, policy, and community health. Her past work includes projects such as redesigning teen pregnancy programs, improving pregnancy outcomes in low-income communities in Chicago, running sex education programming for vulnerable youth, and evaluating innovative cross-sector partnerships in public health.

She earned her Master’s degree in Public Health in 2009 from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago. Nadiah has also participated in a number of fellowships, including the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, Germanacos Fellowship, is a recipient of the Women’s Innovation Fund and was selected to participate in Cohort 4 of the NoVo Foundation’s Move to End Violence program. She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2018 Chicago Foundation for Women’s Impact Award and the El Hibri Foundation’s Community Builder award.

In the past, she served on the executive board of directors for the National Women’s Health Network and currently serves on the advisory board for Third Wave Fund. Most recently, she co-authored the first edition of The Sex Talk: A Muslim’s Guide to Healthy Sex and Relationships.

Sahar’s Bio

Sahar is a Pakistani-American Muslim woman from the Bay Area, currently living in Los Angeles. Her dedication to serving the Muslim community draws from her extensive experience working as an organizer and educator within community spaces.

After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Development Studies, Sahar moved to Singapore where she worked as a Project Coordinator for a UN-funded regional project on promoting gender-equitable interpretations of Islam for the full adoption of CEDAW (pronounced see-dah). Sahar passionately believes Islam is a religion that is sex positive and promotes healthy sexual relationships.

Since moving back in 2015, she has continued her activism by challenging Islamophobia as Co-Chair of #VigilantLOVE where she creatively organizes against the mosque-to-prison pipeline. She is currently the Manager of Movement Building for HEART, where she explores the intersections of islamophobia and gender-based violence and supports survivors of sexual violence in the Muslim community.

Sahar’s work with HEART has been featured in Teen Vogue, NPR, KPCC, Fusion’s Sex Right Now and #GoodMuslimBadMuslim.

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