Civic Engagement

You'll see us at the MN State Capitol every year advocating for issues important to our Sisterhood. In the past, we've passed bills supporting survivors of sexual violence, bringing income support to low income families, and more.

Accountability is important to us, and we intentionally create space for Muslim women to connect with their legislators and ask them about their work and commitment to our communities.

Reviving Sisterhood believes in working toward collective liberation in coalition with other organizations, groups, and communities. Our partners and collaborators are Muslim, BIPOC, women, and other marginalized communities, fighting together to end Islamophobia, racism, and sexism.

Each election year, we engage our community members in values-based voter education and outreach. This includes the creation of candidate report cards to help our community explore where candidates stand on different issues.

MENSTRUAL EQUITY

Since 2018, the Sisterhood together with the National Council of Jewish Women has been working to pass a law that would mandate public schools to provide free menstrual products in all restrooms. Rep. Sandra Feist, DFL-New Brighton, was the chief sponsor for the bill and worked tirelessly with teenage girls across Minnesota as they gave numerous passionate testimonies in both House and Senate hearings. The passage of this law not only ensures easy access to menstrual products but has also normalized conversations around periods and hopefully ends the stigma girls face when they menstruate.

COMBATING HATE

Since 2019, the Sisterhood has been working in a Combating Hate Coalition with several other organizations in Minnesota to pass this bill. This law requires state agencies to consult with communities who are most targeted by hate crimes to create anti-bias trainings for law enforcement. This law also requires law enforcement agencies to differentiate between general property crimes motivated by hate, which is especially important as Minnesota has already seen six attacks on masjids in 2023.

RESTORE THE VOTE

This bill was first introduced by Attorney General Keith Ellison in 2003 when he was a State Representative. Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, and Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, carried the bill at the Capitol this year. And they credited former lawmakers for bringing the bill again and again at the Capitol. Now that it is a law, it is expected to make 50,000 or more people convicted of felonies but still “on paper” — serving out probation or parole — eligible to vote. It’s the largest voting rights expansion the state has seen in decades. The implementation of the Restore the Vote law is June 1st, 2023.

NONPROFIT INFRASTRUCTURE

RISE supported the Nonprofit Infrastructure Grant Program (NIGP) bill to be passed by giving a testimony at a house hearing. This legislation will invest $4 million over the next two years to support small, culturally specific organizations that serve historically underserved communities.