WORCHESTER, Massachusetts – A Muslim community activist who has been working over the past 18 years to help refugees and asylum seekers will receive the city’s prestigious Women of Consequence Awards on Thursday, March 7.
“The 2019 Woman of Consequence Award will be presented to Imrana Soofi, founder and director of Muslim Community Link,” a statement issued by the City of Worchester, Massachusetts, read.
Soofi has been working since 2001 to help Muslim refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants settle comfortably into Worcester County.
The Muslim activist first came to Louisiana from Bangladesh when she was 8. For some 22 years, she has been living in Worchester.
Speaking about MCL in a previous interview with Telegram, Soofi said, ″(We work) to empower the most marginalized within the Muslim community and that really ends up meaning we help refugees, immigrants and the asylee population. … The needs of the youth are also not being addressed, the same way the refugees’ needs are not being addressed. Their voices are not taken seriously. In advocating for Muslims in the area and outside of it, we bring attention to (them).”
The event’s keynote address will be provided by Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, a Western Massachusetts attorney with a strong record of civil rights advocacy, civic engagement, and interfaith activism.
She serves as a Commissioner for the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women and formerly served on the Family Advisory Council for Boston Children’s Hospital.
The ACSW was created in 1977 and its function is to formulate, encourage, promote and monitor programs and policies relating to the status of women in the City of Worcester.
Since 1996, the ACSW has highlighted extraordinary women of all ages through the Women of Consequence Awards. The ACSW promotes community awareness of women’s issues such as sexual exploitation, pay equality, and childcare through forums, recommendations to the City Manager and public awareness campaigns.
International Women’s Day will be celebrated worldwide on Friday, March 8.