I am a Vermont Artist: Muslim Girls Making Change
The words of four young Vermont women working for social justice have resonated throughout our state and the country in the past few years. Kiran Waqar, Hawa Adam, Lena Ginawi, and Balkisa Abdikadir began performing slam poetry as Muslim Girls Making Change (MGMC) in 2016. They have since competed internationally and won numerous awards, including the SuAnne Big Crow Memorial Award from the National Education Association.
The Huffington Post cited the group in an article highlighting seventeen “Muslim American women who made 2016 a kinder, more just and beautiful year” with “We salute these women and the thousands of others who make this country great.”
Visit MGMC’s website.
Watch MGMC’s acceptance speech at the National Education Association.
Read about MGMC in a Poetry Foundation blog post.
The “I am a Vermont Artist” series explores how artists’ creative expressions reflect their experiences of ethnicity, gender identity, religion, disability, or age. Covering all artistic disciplines, and a range of backgrounds—from New Americans to the state’s first residents—we hope to amplify voices that deepen our understanding of what it means to be a Vermont artist.