{"id":5072,"date":"2009-11-12T00:00:49","date_gmt":"2009-11-12T08:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/muslimahmediawatch.org\/?p=5072"},"modified":"2009-11-12T00:00:49","modified_gmt":"2009-11-12T08:00:49","slug":"supporting-mothers-aicha-ech-channas-opus-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2009\/11\/supporting-mothers-aicha-ech-channas-opus-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting Mothers: Aicha Ech Channa’s Opus Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Well, readers, I\u2019m feeling an interesting combination of exhausted and giddy at the moment after my graduation today, which doesn\u2019t lend itself well to my usual snarky media critique.\u00a0 I won\u2019t even try.\u00a0 Instead, I\u2019m going to point you in the direction of this article<\/a> (mentioned recently on MMW\u2019s Twitter feed<\/a>), so that you can feel all happy and warm and fuzzy, too.<\/p>\n

Half the reason for this is because the picture accompanying the story is just so darn cute (masha\u2019Allah):<\/p>\n

\"Aicha
Aicha Ech Channa. Photo via Thomas Whisenand, for the Opus Project <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But it\u2019s also a cool story about a Moroccan woman, Aicha Ech Channa, who has recently been given an award for her work with unwed mothers:<\/p>\n

She is the first Muslim to win the Opus award. The annual humanitarian award from the Minnetonka-based Opus Prize Foundation goes to unsung heroes for their faith-based acts of compassion.<\/p>\n

[\u2026]<\/p>\n

Ech Channa, 68, is the founder and president of the Association for Women\u2019s Solidarity. In the 1980s, she was working for the Moroccan Ministry of Social Affairs, where unwed mothers came seeking help, even though little help was available. Under Islamic law, the women were considered prostitutes, and many had their babies taken away over their objections.<\/p>\n

Considering that unacceptable, Ech Channa launched her program in 1985. It offers women legal counseling, job training and medical and psychological support with a goal of making them self-sufficient so they can raise their children.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Having done some volunteer work with a community of young mothers, I appreciate projects that offer a combination of forms of support that these women might need.\u00a0 I also think it\u2019s cool that although the article makes repeated (excessive) mention of the people who oppose Ech Channa\u2019s project on religious grounds, it\u2019s also clear that she herself is \u201ccommitted to her faith,\u201d and motivated by it to do the work she\u2019s doing, believing that \u201cEvery human being has a flame [of love] inside them that must be fanned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, readers, I\u2019m feeling an interesting combination of exhausted and giddy at the moment after my graduation today, which doesn\u2019t lend itself well to my usual snarky media critique.\u00a0 I won\u2019t even try.\u00a0 Instead, I\u2019m going to point you in the direction of this article (mentioned recently on MMW\u2019s Twitter feed), so that you can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[62,1019],"class_list":["post-5072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-aicha-ech-channa","tag-opus-project"],"yoast_head":"\nSupporting Mothers: Aicha Ech Channa's Opus Prize<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Well, readers, I'm feeling an interesting combination of exhausted and giddy at the moment after my graduation today, which doesn't lend itself well to 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