by Gosia Wozniacka , The Oregonian
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Abdulle, leader of Portland's Somali Women's Association, knew women in her community wanted to swim but weren't comfortable wearing swimsuits in front of men.
"Privacy is important for the body of the woman, because the body is her most precious thing," says Abdulle, who escaped Somalia's civil war and lived in Texas for 10 years before arriving in Portland in 2003.
Now, thanks to Abdulle's perseverance and training in civic engagement, Portland's Buckman Pool this month began offering weekly women- and men-only swim sessions.
Abdulle got her idea off the ground after she joined Engage '08, a yearlong project by Portland's Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization to teach immigrants and refugees how to participate in civic affairs. The goal was to help people long used to fearing government officials how to interact with city leaders and promote their communities' interests.
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| Lul Abdulle came up with the idea for women-only swim sessions and helped make them happen as part of her training in civic engagement. |
"We needed to figure out how to be culturally responsive to a community while also doing everything legally," Turpel says.
She researched how other cities handle the issue and discovered that some already offer gender-segregated swim sessions; besides Muslims, Orthodox Jews and conservative Christians also prefer not to swim with the opposite sex.
She met with Abdulle to learn more about Somali religion and culture. She read about Islam. And she found swimwear on the Internet designed for modesty — with leggings, tunics and hoods. But Abdulle told her such swimwear is still too form-fitting and wouldn't solve the problem.
Then Turpel and city staff came up with a solution: The city could hold women-only sessions if it also offered men's sessions with a male lifeguard. The sessions would be open to all, regardless of religion. Now Abdulle is translating brochures to publicize the new sessions in the area's African community after the first ones drew few participants
Abdulle and Turpel's efforts are iconic of civic engagement training, says Ronault LS Catalani, the Engage '08 facilitator and program coordinator for the city's Office of Human Relations.
"Madame Lul stood up and said, 'This is very important to us,'" Catalani says. "She took the initiative, and she followed it from start to finish. She gave a great example to all the other immigrants, especially the women."
Turpel says she learned about a community she knew little about. Abdulle says she learned the importance of open communication. She looks forward to using the experience to educate others in her community.
"I tell all my fellow Somali women that the city was willing to assist us," she says. "I tell them, 'You don't need to fear; all you need is to communicate.'"
--Gosia Wozniacka: [email protected]