Fatima Sadaf Saied

Fatima Sadaf Saied is the Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Organization (MWO) based in Orlando, Florida.  As the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and a native Floridian, she witnessed her parents build and dedicate their lives to inclusive Islamic institutions including mosques, schools, and civic organizations throughout her childhood.  Following their example, in her time at the University of Miami, she was a founder and President of a student organization that was an inclusive alternative to the existing MSA which was not open to women or diverse Islamic perspectives.  After graduating from UM with a degree in Psychobiology, she started her family and dedicated her time to raising her five children.  Realizing that a gap existed in women’s leadership opportunities in her local Muslim community, she was one of a group of like-minded women, that established the MWO in 2010.  It is a nonprofit dedicated to building the power of and creating inclusive and welcoming spaces for Muslim women.  Fatima is also on the Board of Directors of Eid Orlando, an organization dedicated to establishing family-friendly Muslim holiday celebrations.  She part of the inaugural cohort for Zakat Foundation Institute’s Muslim Philanthropy and Humanitarian Studies Fellowship program at IUPUI’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.  She is now completing her Masters's Degree in Philanthropic studies there to build the nonprofit leadership expertise of Muslim women. She is passionate about uplifting the lives of her daughters, her team members, and her community through compassionate service.

 

I am Emerging

 

I am seven.

I am a daughter and a sister.

I am invisible.

I am surrounded by loud beautiful voices; my parents, my brothers and my sister.  Our home is full of life, love, laughter and joy.

I am in the shadow of my mother, the matriarch of the community.  So powerful, caring for everyone in need.  Guiding all around her with grace.  I hear her voice, singing the praises of the Divine and sending blessings on her beloved Prophet.

I am unseen and unheard in a family that is

Larger than life.

 

I am seventeen. 

I am a student and a friend. 

I am becoming.

I am wearing a hijab now, along with my friends, and we are reclaiming our identity.

I am on campus but not welcome in Muslim spaces because I am a woman. 

I am taking a stand and creating spaces that are inclusive to all who are at the margins.

I am done hiding.

I have found courage after a childhood spent in the shadows.


I am twenty-seven. 

I am a mother and a wife.

I am adrift.

I am living a life for others and have lost myself in the process. Isn’t that what it means to be a mother?  To give selflessly until there is nothing left to give?

I am numb as the world changes and hate against my people grows after my religion is hijacked on 9/11.

I am unable to take a stand. I am unable to lend a hand.

I am just a mom and my world is my little apartment.

 

I am thirty-seven. 

I am a community member and a volunteer.

I am emerging.

I am yearning for a way to make a difference again as I used to when I was younger.

I am searching for a community of my own and find it one October evening in the living room of a friend as the Muslim Women’s Organization is born.

I am finally finding what I have been missing in my life,

A purpose.

 

I am forty-seven. 

I am a woman and a survivor. 

I am not alone.

I am uplifted by my husband, my kids and all of my people standing beside me through it all. Through the pain of losing loved ones, through breast cancer and through self-doubt.

I am standing up and speaking out.  My mother is no longer here, but I am filling the silence she left behind with my voice. Guiding all around me with grace. My voice singing the praises of the Divine and sending blessings on my beloved Prophet.

I am seen and heard in a community that is

Larger than life.