Advocates for Youth’s Muslim youth Leadership Council (MyLC) will amplify the voices of young Muslims and raise awareness of issues impacting Muslim communities

WASHINGTON – At a time when Muslims in the United States face renewed discrimination and victimization by hate crimes and anti-Muslim polices, Advocates for Youth today launched a Muslim Youth Leadership Initiative to raise the voices of young Muslims and build the skills of emerging young leaders of the resistance movement. MyLC seeks to raise awareness regarding health, rights and justice for Muslim-identified youth and to advocate for young Muslims’ inclusion in efforts to achieve reproductive justice for their peers living in the United States. “As a queer immigrant Muslim, I am deeply aware of the ways in which LGBT Muslims face trauma in this political and cultural landscape ,” said Urooj Arshad, associate director of international youth health and rights at Advocates for Youth and a co-director of the MyLC. “This council provides an opportunity to nurture strong leadership among Muslim youth, organize around local and national programs and policies that support LGBT and immigrant Muslims, and push back on the intersections of islamophobia, xenophobia and homophobia.“

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MyLC is a leadership opportunity that brings together young Muslim identifying people (ages 17-24) in the United States to educate and mobilize their peers to take action regarding policy initiatives and the cultural narratives that impact Muslim communities living in the U.S.

“I want to be confident and strong during a time when my government is telling me not to be. I want other young Muslims to embrace being different and to have love themselves because of it,” said Emad, a MyLC leader. “That’s the reason I joined the council, to empower young Muslims nationwide to speak out, stand up, and make an impact in our community.

Recognizing the diversity in the Muslim community, MyLC is a leadership pipeline for Muslim youth who will examine the unique challenges many Muslim youth face by nature of their multiple, intersecting identities including race, sexual orientation, gender identity,and immigration status.

“I joined the council because, as in every society and religion, I think LGBTQ people, immigrants and refugees are left out of our national conversations,” said Samantha, a MyLC leader. “Everyone has the right to sexual health and reproductive care. Even though it may be a hard conversation to have for some, there is a way for our community to have an open, honest dialogue about young people’s sexual health and rights. .”

To learn more about MyLC, join their Facebook live chat on Monday, June 26 at 12:30 pm ET. MyLC will stream the chat through the Advocate’s For Youth Facebook page.

For Immediate Release: June 26, 2017
Contact: Kayla Ermanni, kayla.ermanni@berlinrosen.com, 202-800-7408

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About Advocates for Youth:

Advocates for Youth is a 501(c)3 organization that champions efforts that help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Advocates believes it can best serve the field by boldly advocating for a more positive and realistic approach to adolescent sexual health. Advocates focuses its work on young people ages 14-25 in the U.S. and around the globe.