The House of Sakinah (HoS), Western Sydney based Women Support Centre held its annual event on Sunday 30 October 2022 at Himalaya Emporium in Bankstown attended by a large number of invited guests including politicians, community leaders and supporters.
The theme addressed by a number of speakers at the lunch time event was Pathways to Resilience: Navigating Barriers and Access to Services.
Firdousi Obeidullah. Photo by Rana Ahmad.
The formal program was started by the MC, Ms Baseerah Khalil welcoming the guests followed by recitation of Quran by Maulana Abeerul Thanvi.
Ms Firdousi Obeidullah, Managing Director of HoS, after acknowledging the First Peoples of Australia told ‘Our Story’, 9 year journey of HoS with a video presentation.
Ms Obeidullah went on to highlight the issue of DV saying, “Domestic violence does not discriminate against anyone. It happens across all races, social, religious and cultural backgrounds. These factors do add an additional layer of concern to these victims, who are now often called survivors.”
Photo by Rana Ahmad.
She further showcased the concerns on DV with a number videos of personal touch stories on coercive control and hardships suffered by vulnerable women and children specifically in CALD communities.
Ms Obeidullah concluded by thanking Charity Australia International (CAI) and Islamic Forum for Australian Muslims (IFAM) for providing the platform of HoS for serving the community and providing ongoing support.
The audience were also addressed by Minister for Multiculturalism, Mr Mark Coure, President of IFAM, Mr Rais Khan and the Consul General of Pakistan in Sydney, Mr Muhammad Ashraf who all highly appreciated the noble services being provided by HoS for the vulnerable members in the community.
Amira Rahman, Youth Ambassador, Muslim Youth Association gave ABS 2017 statistics where 1 in 6 women reported having experienced physical and/or sexual abuse before the age of 15 and 1 in 16 men reported having experienced this abuse when they were boys.
Photo by Rana Ahmad.
Jahida El Assad, an Education & Personal Development Coach talked about resilience and our families, friends, and colleagues at work have an enormous effect on our collective capacity to thrive.
Princess R Lakshman, psychotherapist, Mind Body Healing Club and author of The Soul Speaks related her personal story of recovery, resilience, and healing from a decade long experience of domestic and family violence.
Photo by Rana Ahmad.
Rahmah Wisudo, a domestic violence survivor also told of her experience and survival from her traumatic experiences.
Aisha Homsi, Counsellor, Giving Back Australia Aisha is of New Zealand and Cook Island descent born into a devoted Jehovah’s witness family. she reverted to Islam when she was 14 years old said that firm belief serves life’s purpose and heals all wounds while advising, “Productive lifestyle with systematic beliefs that will keep you empowered in society for success but be humble to see yourself as no better than the next.”
The event included lunch and fund raising session to help carry out ongoing and further enhanced services provided by HoS.
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