Choose Nearest City

  • Calgary
  • Ottawa
  • Edmonton
  • Regina
  • Halifax
  • Saskatoon
  • Hamilton
  • Toronto GTA
  • Kingston
  • Vancouver
  • Kitchener
  • Waterloo
  • London
  • Windsor
  • Montreal
  • Winnipeg
  • Outside of Canada

Choose your city (or nearest city)

  • Calgary
  • Montreal
  • Edmonton
  • Ottawa
  • Regina
  • Saskatoon
  • Halifax
  • Toronto GTA
  • Hamilton
  • Vancouver
  • Kingston
  • Waterloo
  • Kitchener
  • Windsor
  • London
  • Winnipeg
  • Outside of Canada
  • Events
  • Directory
  • AdvertiseAdvertise
  • PatronsPatrons

Enter your login credentials

Forgot username?

Forgot password?

Remember Me
Register
Facebook Login Google Login
loading
Please wait, logging in...

Register Details

Have an account? Login

Forgot Username

[Form forgot_username not found!]

Forgot Password

[Form forgot_password not found!]

How would you like to proceed?

LOG IN / SIGN UP allows you to:
  • Have a record of all events you've been to.
  • Request cancellation if you cannot make it to an event.
  • Post an event of your own.
  • Add your business/organization listing to the online directory.
  • Add an opportunity (job, volunteer, petition, survey, etc.).

Please login to continue

LOG IN / SIGN UP allows you to:
  • Have a record of all events you've been to.
  • Request cancellation if you cannot make it to an event.
  • Post an event of your own.
  • Add your business/organization listing to the online directory.
  • Add an opportunity (job, volunteer, petition, survey, etc.).
Muslim Link is Ottawa Muslims' Online Community Newspaper. The site includes an up-to-date Events Listing and Business and Community Directory for Ottawa Muslims.
x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

  • Home
  • Events
    • Ottawa
    • Montreal
    • Toronto GTA
    • Edmonton
    • Calgary
    • Vancouver
    • London
    • Windsor
    • Hamilton
    • Halifax
    • Winnipeg
    • Kingston
    • Kitchener/Waterloo
    • Regina/Saskatoon
    • Event Table
  • Directory
    • Ottawa
    • Montreal
    • Toronto GTA
    • Edmonton
    • Calgary
    • Vancouver
    • London
    • Windsor
    • Hamilton
    • Halifax
    • Winnipeg
    • Kingston
    • Kitchener/Waterloo
    • Regina/Saskatoon
  • News
  • Stories
  • Islamic Finance
  • Classifieds
    • Opportunities
      • Volunteer Opportunities
      • Job Opportunities
      • Crowdfunding
      • Bazaar Vendors Wanted
      • Call for Donations
      • ​​Scholarships / Bursaries
      • ​​Petitions
      • Nominations
      • ​​Call for Participants
      • ​​Call for Submissions
      • Call for Abstracts
      • Grants
      • ​​Surveys
      • ​​Invitation to Dialogue
      • Sponsorships
      • Contests
    • Locations
      • Jumaa Locations
      • Full-Time Islamic Schools
      • Part-Time Islamic Schools
      • Hifz Programs
      • Iftar Locations
      • Taraweeh Prayers
      • I'tikaf Locations
      • Eid Prayers
      • Eid Festival Locations
      • Camps Locations
    • Rentals
      • Add Rental
    • Find a Place
    • Find a Tenant
  • Opportunities
  • Locations
  • Rentals
  • Home
  • News
  • Muslimahs on Parliament Hill: Lila Mansour from Cariboo-Prince George, British Columbia
Syrian Canadian Lila Mansour represented the riding of Cariboo-Prince George, British Columbia at Equal Voice’s Daughters of the Vote gathering in April 2019. Syrian Canadian Lila Mansour represented the riding of Cariboo-Prince George, British Columbia at Equal Voice’s Daughters of the Vote gathering in April 2019.
23
Jul
2019

Muslimahs on Parliament Hill: Lila Mansour from Cariboo-Prince George, British Columbia

Written by  Making Headlines
Published in News
  • Add to Facebook
  • Like this? Tweet it to your followers!

Syrian Canadian Lila Mansour represented the riding of Cariboo-Prince George, British Columbia at Equal Voice’s second Daughters of the Vote gathering in early April 2019, which brought together 338 young women between the ages of 18 and 23, representing each Canadian riding and take their seat in the House of Commons during a historic sitting of the House of Commons. They were addressed by every federal party leader, and engaged with an array of Ministers, critics and advocates.

Daughters of the Vote (DoV) was aimed at encouraging more young women to become involved in Canadian politics, a space where there are still challenges to gender equity.

Muslim Link had the opportunity to interview several of the young Muslim Canadian women who were selected to participate in this historic event, including Lila.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

Tell us about yourself

I have grown up in Prince George, British Columbia, which is located in Northern BC, for almost my whole life. It is a cozy town with a population of just over 80,000.

My parents are both originally from Syria. My parents first immigrated to the United States where I was born, and then to Canada for my father’s work. We initially lived in Quesnel, BC, until I was seven, and then we moved to Prince George and I have been here ever since! Alhamdulillah (Thank God), I have a beautiful family – my parents and three younger siblings.

I can proudly say I am Syrian-Canadian Muslim. Canada is my home, but I can never forget my Syrian roots and culture. My faith and culture have shaped who I am, and I know that all my life experiences and knowledge have made me a better person.

I am very passionate about helping others in my community. I have taken on many volunteer positions from being a youth mentor, to organizing youth activities at my local Relay for Life charity event for the past five years. Most of all, I enjoy teaching Quran and Arabic studies to young children at the local mosque during Islamic school on Sundays. Helping others is incredibly rewarding.

I currently just finished my second year of studies in economics at the University of Northern British Columbia. I chose economics because I believe that it is a great foundation before entering law. I hope to apply soon to law school, as it has always been my dream to become a lawyer. I also believe economics is important for politics – oftentimes elections come down to economics. People are always worried about their jobs, their financial well-being and ability to save money. If I choose to enter politics one day, I want to have the knowledge to be able to make educated decisions that benefit my community and all Canadians.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

Tell us about the riding your represented in the House of Commons. What challenges socially and economically is the riding facing? Do you feel that many in Canada know about and/or understand these challenges? How do you hope to increase awareness about the challenges your riding faces to broader Canadian society?

In parliament I had the great joy of taking the seat of Honorable Todd Doherty from Cariboo-Prince George, who is actually my next-door neighbor!

My community faces various issues. Prince George is known for its Highway of Tears, a route on which too many Indigenous women have lost their lives. I have also seen the marginalization of Indigenous people in my community and they are disproportionately represented in the legal system.

There have also been environmental concerns, as the number of caribou have declined in the region. Deforestation, mining and mills are all having long term impacts on communities.

Northern development is also important to many Northerns. A pipeline was set to pass through Northern, BC until the Wet’suwet’en First Nation blocked various check points, citing that the pipeline would destroy the watershed and wildlife. The showdown between the Indigenous people of the area and police garnered national attention. This is just another example of many issues many regions are facing today – should we build our economy by extracting resources or should we be working towards environmental sustainability? It truly is a contentious issue.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

I did raise the issue of the treatment of Indigenous peoples in my House of Commons speech, but I think that the young Indigenous women who also attended the Daughters of the Vote event spoke so much better to the issues I have raised above, as they have lived many of these struggles first hand. I support my Indigenous counterparts. I have however witnessed firsthand that often Northern, BC is neglected by the South, and Indigenous programs are underfunded.

As a young woman involved in politics, what challenges, if any, do you face? Do you feel that the presence of more young women is changing politics? If so, how?

I am just in the beginning of my experience! One thing I noticed during my time in government is that the media loves to sensationalize one part of any story. Because I am both a Muslim woman and I wear the hijab, my speech in the House of Commons during the Daughters of the Vote (DoV) event became only about Islamophobia, when indeed I had raised many other issues in my speech such as supporting newcomers, ending all discrimination in general, supporting Indigenous people. The media shaped my speech in a way that would supposedly get more attention and views, but it took away from the bigger picture I was hoping to achieve. What I had envisioned was a speech that made people realize that it is important to support Indigenous people and newcomers alike and address the issues facing both groups.

Of course as a woman of colour and a visible minority, there are always people out there who seek to undermine women like me. Perhaps we are not as experienced as people who have worked in politics for years, but this does not mean that our opinions and voices are not valid. And at no point in time should a man be considered more intelligent or worthy of power solely because they are a male; positions of power should be based on merit.

Having more women in politics is definitely changing the political landscape! New ideas are being discussed and addressed in different ways. I think the presence of women in power and politics also allowed empowered many women to speak up during the MeToo movement. It is time that women are respected: we are just as worthy of being heard as men.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

Do you feel that there are also shifts in how young Muslim women are taking up leadership positions within Muslim community organizations in Canada? Do you feel that the presence of young women in these Muslim organizations is changing how these organizations function? If so, how?

There definitely are more young incredible Muslim women entering politics and various leadership positions across Canada. It is so amazing to see!! Many young women have to overcome two types of cultural challenges – ‘back home’ mentalities and ‘at home’ mentalities. Many young Muslim women come from cultures that do not encourage women to seek knowledge, work or take the lead in the community (I can speak from a Middle Eastern perspective.) Islam does not prohibit a woman from getting an education or working outside the home. Actually, society is worse off when women’s voices are not heard. Muslim women should not be afraid to be active participants in their communities if they choose to be; they are great ambassadors of our religion (and to be quite frank, they often do a much better job than Muslim men.) The ‘at home’ mentality that Muslim women in the West also have to face are the stereotypes of Muslims. Like I have said before, Islamophobia is a real problem and many Muslims are afraid to publicly practice their faith. This can discourage young Muslim women from entering politics or taking on visible roles.

By having more Muslim women in these organizations, the public’s perceptions of Muslims in general are changing. Every Muslim who has portrayed Islam through good character and setting good examples for others should give themselves a pat on their back – that’s what we need! I believe that Muslims women have improved many organizations, brought new fresh ideas to the table, and are helping so many people across this nation.

By attending Daughters of the Vote (DoV) you had an opportunity to meet young women from across Canada. Did any of the realities they shared challenge you to unlearn some assumptions about your fellow Canadians or seek out knowledge about issues you had otherwise not known about your fellow Canadians? Please elaborate.

It was so incredible to meet 300+ like-minded young women. Hearing their stories inspired me! Every single one of them was working hard in their community through their work, activism and/or volunteering. I realized that we are all role models for each other and we must continue to support each other because without one another, we cannot achieve great things.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

As was to be expecting with a federal election fast approaching, tensions between political parties were much more apparent during this Daughters of the Vote (DoV) than back in 2017. One of the greatest challenges of our time is how societies are becoming more and more polarized. Unfortunately, partisan politics plays a role in this polarization as parties focus on attacking one another instead of trying to build consensus for the common good. Do you feel that there is a need for a new culture of how politics is done in Canada in order to keep our democracy healthy and focused on the interests of all Canadians?

Politics, throughout history, has been polarizing and trying to attain ‘perfect’ politics is not possible. Although democracy is not a new term, there are still many countries in the world that do not democratically elect their leaders. Let’s not take this for granted.

With that being said, greater accountability needs to take place. For a democracy to be healthier, I believe that there needs to be greater transparency (there was a lack thereof during the SNC Lavalin controversy). We should focus on having productive discussions instead of attacking one another. We should be focusing on REAL issues, not the ones that get headlines and stir up commotion.

As it is an election year, what will you be doing to try to get out the vote in your riding?

As vice-president of the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Debate Society, I am hoping to partner up with political parties on campus to encourage open dialogue during the upcoming election. I hope to run debates and events that allow people to learn more about politics, meet politicians and encourage students to get out and vote. I am hoping to apply for one of the DoV grants in the near future to make my visions a reality.

What is the key lesson from your experience at DoV that you will be taking back into your work in your riding?

The biggest thing I learned is that we are role models for one another. Whether we are women, or Muslim, or Muslim women, we need to support each other. All 338 of us young females supported one another, even if our opinions conflicted. But we all have one vision – a better Canada – and we cannot achieve that without each other.

I know that I will be striving to be an even better role model for the youth in my community, particularly vulnerable Muslim youth. They often struggle to find good Muslim role models, and I hope that I can encourage them to take the lead in their community and have a positive impact on the world around them inshallah (God willing).

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I encourage everyone to get out and vote this election – do not take it for granted. Stay up to date on political issues that affect you. And for all youth across this country – the future is in our hands and we are shaping it today. What you sow today, you will reap tomorrow! Support one another and push each other to be the best that you can.

If you’re searching for inspiration, or you have a story you’d love to share with me, don’t hesitate to reach out to me personally. I’d love to be inspired by you!

This article was produced exclusively for Muslim Link and should not be copied without prior permission from the site. For permission, please write to info@muslimlink.ca.

Read 5352 times
Rate this item
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
(0 votes)
Tagged under
  • Daughters of the Vote
  • Equal Voice Canada
  • Syrian Canadian
  • Arab Canadian
  • Muslim Women
  • Hijab
  • Parliament Hill
  • BC Muslims

Making Headlines

Making Headlines compiles stories from mainstream media about Muslim Canadians.

Latest from Making Headlines

  • First Hijab-Wearing Muslim Woman Elected to Toronto City Council First Hijab-Wearing Muslim Woman Elected to Toronto City Council
  • Egyptian Canadian Shaykh Muhammad Alshareef, Founder of AIMaghrib Institute, Dies at 47 Egyptian Canadian Shaykh Muhammad Alshareef, Founder of AIMaghrib Institute, Dies at 47
  • Conservative MP and Advocates Call for Expansion of Resettlement Program for Afghans Conservative MP and Advocates Call for Expansion of Resettlement Program for Afghans

Related items

  • First Hijab-Wearing Muslim Woman Elected to Toronto City Council First Hijab-Wearing Muslim Woman Elected to Toronto City Council
  • Muslim Women Receive Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award Muslim Women Receive Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award
  • Commemorating Muslim Holidays at Vancouver City Hall Commemorating Muslim Holidays at Vancouver City Hall
back to top
x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

x

We have detected that you are using an ad blocker. Muslim Link relies on revenue from these advertisements so please consider disabling the ad blocker for this domain.

Ottawa Events
View More Events
Online Event
Muslim Legal Support Centre Policing and Mental Health Workshop
Wed, Feb 08, 2023 06:00pm EST/EDT
Educational
Alkhan Canada Ramadan Delights Bazaar
Sat, Feb 11, 2023 11:00am EST/EDT
Bazaars
Online Event
Emmanuel College Indigenous and Muslim Perspectives on Peace Education
Thu, Feb 16, 2023 07:00pm EST/EDT
Educational
Ahlul Bayt Center Ottawa Nurturing Core Qualities Course Sisters Only 16 up
Sat, Feb 18, 2023 01:00pm EST/EDT
Educational
Islamic Relief Canada A Spiritual Evening with Maryam and Fatima Masud | Ottawa
Sat, Feb 18, 2023 06:00pm EST/EDT
Educational

Featured Articles

  • World Uyghur Congress (WUC) applauds passage of M-62 Motion in Canadian Parliament to Welcome 10,000 Uyghur Refugees World Uyghur Congress (WUC) applauds passage of M-62 Motion in Canadian Parliament to Welcome 10,000 Uyghur Refugees
  • Statement by the Prime Minister on the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia Statement by the Prime Minister on the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia
  • Government of Canada Wants to Hear From Canadians about Their Ideas for the 2023 Budget Government of Canada Wants to Hear From Canadians about Their Ideas for the 2023 Budget

Twitter Posts

"Developing Your Own Brand" with Lawyer Husein Panju @lawyeredpodcast organized by The Muslim Law Studentsu2019 Associau2026 https://t.co/Cm...
7 hours ago
Happy Strong Family Understanding Addictions through an Islamic Perspective with Saarah Khan, Registered Psychotheru2026 https://t.co/TXE4z9...
3 days ago
Apply to Join the Toronto Police Service Race-Based Data Collection Community Advisory Panel DEADLINE FEB. 1 5:00 Pu2026 https://t.co/eG0BVs...
6 days ago
Muslim Link

About us

  • About Muslim Link
    Our Team
    About Eye Media
    Contact Us
    Diversity & Inclusion Policy
  • Events & Directory Disclaimer
  • Project: A Muslim History of Ottawa

How To

  • Claim a directory listing
    Create a directory listing
    Post an event
    Sell Tickets
    Report a mistake

Event Listings

  •  - Ottawa
  •  - Toronto GTA
  •  - Montreal
  •  - Edmonton
  •  - Calgary
  •  - Vancouver
  •  - London
  •  - Windsor
  •  - Hamilton
  •  - Kitchener/Waterloo
  •  - Halifax
  •  - Winnipeg
  •  - Kingston
  •  - Regina/Saskatoon

Business & Community Directory

  •  - Ottawa
  •  - Toronto GTA
  •  - Montreal
  •  - Edmonton
  •  - Calgary
  •  - Vancouver
  •  - London
  •  - Windsor
  •  - Hamilton
  •  - Kitchener/Waterloo
  •  - Halifax
  •  - Winnipeg
  •  - Kingston
  •  - Regina/Saskatoon

Advertisers

  • Advertise Online
  • Become a Patron
  • Sponsorships
  • Join Snapshot e-Newsletter
  • Snapshot Publishing Dates

ML Team

  • Writers Workshops
  • Content Policy
  • Staff Payment System
  • Join the team

Social Media

Follow us on our pages!

Facebook Twitter Youtube LinkedIn Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 Muslim Link. All Rights Reserved. All articles, photos, graphics and images on this site remain the copyright of Muslim Link, unless otherwise noted, and should not be copied without prior permission. Designed by Eye Media Solutions
Top
Copyright © Muslim Link. All articles, photos, graphics and images on this site remain the copyright of Muslim Link, unless otherwise noted, and should not be copied without prior permission. 2023 All rights reserved. Custom Design by Youjoomla.com