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Aisha Noaman is a Muslim woman from Pakistan who has lived in Canada for 17 years. She has encountered various forms of racism, including the failure of Canadian authorities to recognize her foreign certification as a computer engineer, and the Canadian experience requirement. However, despite these obstacles, Noaman is now the proud owner of Books Beyond Words, a successful online Islamic bookstore based in Cambridge. With the help of the Coalition of Muslim Women (CMW) of Kitchener-Waterloo, she received training at Rising Together: Muslim Women Entrepreneurs, a project hosted by the CMW’s program Women Building Women, and created her online store a year ago. Noaman and her family have lived in Cambridge for the last five years, where she has noticed the Muslim community growing in the Waterloo region. Her goal is to create a warm atmosphere where people can relax and share the love for reading through her store. Beyond the successful experiences she has had with her new business, she is aware of the challenge posed by large retailers and the decline of reading as leisure amid social media. Her vision is to cater to the needs of young Muslims, to provide them with access to books that reflect their experiences and identities, and to contribute to their confidence and sense of pride. Noaman was one of the speakers at the closing ceremony of the training session held at the Carizon Westmount Center on March 8, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, where she talked about a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. Despite the racism she has faced, she says she feels “like home” living in Cambridge.
