In early March, Yassnim Abel-Magied (2010 Young Queenslander of the Year) was interviewed on the Sydney-based 'Voice of Islam' radio programme (87.6FM), the 'Y Factor'.
As the founder of 'Youth without Borders' at the age of 16, Yassnim is an energetic, proactive young woman who is passionate about empowering disadvantaged youth and challenging stereotypes of Muslim women. 
Yassnim is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Queensland and when she’s not volunteering at 'Youth without Borders' she works on an oil rig - a rough, tough and blokey world that doesn’t always welcome female employees.
In Yassnim’s radio interview on the 'Y Factor' she outlined the challenges and opportunities of being a 22-year- old Australian, Muslim woman working in a white Caucasian, male dominated environment.
As a hijabi woman, Yassnim described her very public visual identity as a Muslim woman and how she is using this opportunity to broaden the scope of how people see Muslims. "Because I’m a hijabi and a mechanical engineer, people are always like, Oh my God, you’re so unique!" And whenever people say this, I tell myself, Ok so I’ve been given this amazing opportunity – I’m now going to use it to give people the perspective that they may not have heard before.
Yassnim’s status as 2010 Young Queenslander of the Year has given her access to the media and the resources to act as a public advocate for Islam, but she described the way that every Muslim person can challenge stereotypes and put an end to ignorance in their daily encounters.
"Not all of us need to be public advocates, but we can all try and relate to other people and speak in their language. We are all sharing the same land and enjoying the same opportunities so we have to find the middle ground. Maybe I think this way because I grew up in a suburb where there weren’t many other Muslim kids. I just saw myself as an Aussie.
Some people would ask me about my religion and wonder why I’d go off and do weird things on a mat, but that was the extent of it. The cool thing about that, is that they knew me as a person first and then as all the other labels second."
Speaking about the challenges of trying to establish an Australian Muslim identity, Yassnim noted that this struggle is not something unique to Australia.
"Around the world, Muslims have struggled with identity, with the challenge of reconciling living in the West with being Muslim, and with being the first generation of a particular culture. I don’t think that we, as Muslims growing up in Australia, have a good idea of what an Australian Muslim identity is. Yes, it’s going to be hard to create that identity. Yes, we’re going to have to spend a lot of time explaining, but rather than seeing it as a burden we should see it as a blessing and an opportunity. We have a blank slate where we can build whatever we want, and hopefully we will build something that is positive."
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LISTEN: Yassmin Abdel-Magied's interview, 'Y Factor' radio show Interview courtesy of Sydney-based, 'Voice of Islam' radio programme and the 'Y Factor' (87.6FM) Yassmin Abdel-Magied shares her insights on empowering disadvantaged youth, the politics of utilising cultural capital, impacting change on society, working on oil rigs and the inescapable chores that keep her grounded. (Duration: 19:09mins) |
Ashleigh Green works in the Columban Mission Institute's Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations. Ashleigh works with women and young people from the Christian and Muslim traditions to promote better relations.
This article features excerpts from the 'Y Factor' radio show ('Voice of Islam' 87.6FM) interview with Yassmin Abdel-Magied.
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