Culture

Sisters Dialogue - an inspiring Muslim women-led organization

Sisters Dialogue is a grassroots, women-led organization in Edmonton that is quietly reshaping how Muslim women and girls access safety, healing, and community.

Iqra

15 Jan 2026 • 4 min read

Sisters Dialogue is a grassroots, women-led organization in Edmonton that is quietly reshaping how Muslim women and girls access safety, healing, and community.

Rooted in faith, justice, and cultural safety, it offers a rare kind of space where Muslim women can “tell it as it is” about their lives, their struggles, and their hopes for a more just world.

“We have walked alongside women navigating isolation, Islamophobia, genocide, family violence and systemic barriers. And in doing so, we recognized something crucial - we needed a space of our own,” said Wati Rahmat, Founder of Sisters Dialogue.

A Sanctuary for Muslim Women and Girls

Founded by Muslim women, Sisters Dialogue centers those who are often pushed to the margins: racialized Muslim women, girls, and gender-diverse people navigating the intersecting harms of Islamophobia, racism, and gender-based violence.

The organization is intentionally small, close to the community, and driven by the lived experiences of those it serves, making it a sanctuary rather than a service provider in the traditional sense.

From the outset, Sisters Dialogue has focused on creating culturally responsive, healing-centered supports that honour Islamic identities and diverse cultural backgrounds.

This means recognizing that mainstream systems often fail Muslim women and building alternatives where care, spirituality, and dignity are woven together.

Healing-Centered, Culturally Safe Support

At the heart of Sisters Dialogue’s work is a suite of programs that respond to mental, emotional, and spiritual needs in an integrated way.

The organization offers therapy and counseling, peer support circles, creative expression programs, and crisis supports that are designed with Muslim women’s realities in mind.

Sessions and programs are grounded in principles of care, trust, and confidentiality, where women can speak openly about trauma, faith, identity, and family without fear of being misunderstood or judged.

Rather than framing participants as “clients,” Sisters Dialogue treats them as community members and co-creators of a shared healing space.

On Treaty 6: Justice, Solidarity, and Place

Sisters Dialogue is based in Edmonton on Treaty 6 territory and explicitly names itself as a Treaty-people organization.

In its public statements and practice, it acknowledges that its work takes place on the traditional lands of the Cree, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Dene, and Métis peoples, and it links Muslim struggles against racism and Islamophobia with Indigenous struggles against colonial violence.

This rootedness in place shapes the organization’s understanding of justice as relational and collective.

For Sisters Dialogue, supporting Muslim women is inseparable from broader commitments to decolonization, anti-racism, and building relationships of solidarity with other marginalized communities.

Storytelling, Anti-Islamophobia, and Public Voice

Beyond direct services, Sisters Dialogue also plays a public role in challenging Islamophobia and harmful stereotypes about Muslim women.

One of its notable initiatives is an anti-Islamophobia awareness campaign, which has included storytelling projects such as “Muslim Women Tell it As It Is,” inviting Muslim women to share their experiences and perspectives on their own terms.ualberta

By creating platforms for Muslim women’s voices, the organization counters narratives that either erase or speak over them.

These projects also serve as a form of healing and empowerment, allowing participants to transform personal pain into collective insight and advocacy.ualberta

Digital Presence and Community Engagement

Sisters Dialogue extends its reach through an active social media presence, offering reflections, reminders, and resources that resonate with Muslim women and youth.

Its online posts address topics such as healthy versus unhealthy relationships, setting boundaries, self-worth, and navigating online spaces safely—always through a lens that respects faith and culture.

The organization’s digital platforms also function as an outreach tool, connecting isolated community members with supports and letting Muslim women know they are not alone.

By combining on-the-ground programs with online engagement, Sisters Dialogue meets Muslim women where they are, both physically and digitally.

A Vision of Safety, Dignity, and Belonging

Ultimately, Sisters Dialogue seeks a future in which Muslim women and girls can live with safety, dignity, and a deep sense of belonging—within their families, communities, and society at large.

Its work responds to the “layered harms” caused by Islamophobia, misogyny, racism, and social exclusion, but it does so with a vision grounded in healing, connection, and faith-informed resilience.

For readers of Iqra.ca, Sisters Dialogue offers an inspiring example of Muslim women organizing for each other with courage, creativity, and compassion.

It is a reminder that when Muslim women are given space to lead and to heal, entire communities are uplifted.

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