Fun Time with Orphans

Para finalis World Muslimah spend time bersama adik-adik di panti asuhan Ciater. Kami bersenda gurau dan bermain bersama. It was so much fun! Adik-adik ini pulalah yang nanti nya akan menjadi juri kehormatan di malam final World Muslimah 2013.

Tea Walk - Healthy Living Concept

Akhirnya nyampe juga di Ciater, Subang! Wuiih pemandangan nya indah banget! Pas nyampe disana udah malam. Perjalanan nya cukup melelahkan, bayangkan dari Jakarta-Bandung! Tapi Alhamdulillah saya sangat menikmati nya. I can't wait for what's gonna happen tomorrow! :D

Setelah tahajud, aktifitas berikutnya pun mengiringi. Di mulai dengan senam pagi yang kemudian di lanjutkan dengan tea-walk ke perkebunan teh. Ini merupakan pengalaman pertama saya berada di perkebunan teh. Rasa nya alhamdulillah sekali, tidak henti nya saya mengucap syukur pada ALLAH SWT yang telah memberikan saya kesempatan ini.

Para finalis sedang di edukasi tentang beragam jenis teh dan manfaat nya.

Kami sedang di ajarkan bagaimana cara memetik daun teh secara baik dan benar.

Quran

( 3:30-5:30 ) Tahajud, Al Qur’an Placement Test & Tausyiah Shalat Shubuh


Setiap pagi nya, para finalis diharuskan untuk melaksanakan salat tahajud berjamaah. Di hari pertama khususnya, panitia mengadakan Al-Quran placement test untuk mengetahui sejauh mana kemampuan para finalis dalam membaca Al-Quran. Para finalis juga di bekali dengan ilmu tajwid agar bacaan Al-Quran nya lebih baik. Selanjutnya para finalis juga di beri PR menghapal beberapa ayat Al-Quran untuk persiapan malam final nanti.

Face Time Story (The Publication part 2)

Mount Royal student takes her hijab experience to Jakarta

“The hijab covers your head, not your brain.”
Wise words from Mount Royal’s Evawani Daud, third-year psychology student and recent contestant in World Muslimah 2013.
An international competition for Muslim women with a focus on the Islamic faith, World Muslimah is a component of theWorld Muslimah Foundation (WMF) an organization focused on enhancing global understanding of the role of Muslim women in their culture and society.

Evawani Daud, MRU psychology student took third place in World Muslimah competition

Hosted in Jakarta annually since 2011, World Muslimah selects 20 Muslim women between the ages of 18 and 27 from across the globe who demonstrate a balance between the organization’s three tenets of smart, stylish and sholeha (pious).

The hijab experience

Immigrating with her family to Calgary from Aceh, Indonesia in 2007, Daud won the opportunity to return to her homeland to compete after submitting an essay on her experience wearing the hijab both in Indonesia and in her new home in Canada.

“When I started wearing hijab in grade six, it was largely out of obligation; Aceh was a city where it was pretty strict, and having a piece of cloth in public that covered my hair was something I did to be a good student and a good citizen,” says Daud. “When I moved to Canada, there were no rules about hijab and only a few Muslim girls in school wore it.”

Entering grade 11, Daud decided it was time to remove her hijab to help her fit in, but ultimately found it didn’t make her feel better about her identity.

“I realized the problem was not the hijab; it was me who was not proud of my identity as a Muslim,” she says. “When some Canadians think about Islam, they think about girls who are forced to stay home, that they are oppressed by wearing hijab … I wanted to show everyone that Islam is not like that – Muslim women are out there, contributing to society. It gives me an identity that I am proud of, as well as a sense of belonging.”

Stepping into the spotlight

Daud’s path to Jakarta didn’t start from the urgings of her family or community — it began on YouTube. Looking for tutorials on how to wear hijab in 2012, Daud stumbled across videos from the World Muslimah competition from that year.

After seeing an Indonesian woman win, Daud decided that she would join the competition. She submitted her essay and to her surprise was selected as one of the top 100 candidates. She was asked to submit a video documentary in July describing her social activities, achievements, and Koran scholarship, to be voted on via YouTube and Facebook, as well as by a panel of judges.

“To be honest, I'm not used to being in front of the camera – but I had a friend urge me to see it as a challenge and a new experience,” says Daud. “I had support from the campus’ Muslim Student Affiliation and a chance to show my volunteer work at SAMRU’s Peer Support Centre and Sustainability Centre.”

Daud was selected in the top 20 finalists and ultimately finished third in the completion, held in mid-September. She is now encouraging other Muslim women to participate, noting that there is no requirements in regard to height or body weight and that the experience alone is more than worth their while.

Beauty beyond appearance

While Daud did extremely well in the competition, she genuinely appreciates the opportunity to participate with a group of women whom she regards as sisters in a significant initiative for both her homeland and her faith.

“Since I moved to Canada, I've been looking for a place where I belong,” says Daud. “Returning to Indonesia and to be connected with a culture that I've been missing has helped me gain confidence in public and helped me assert my value in society.”

As with many women’s only competitions, World Muslimah is not without its critics – however, organizers assert that the competition is not a “pageant.” According to the WMF facebook site, the Muslim women’s organization (founded in 2011), aims to enhance understanding of Islam and promote essential skills. WMF aims to reduce poverty, focusing primarily on the core issues of education and women's empowerment and appreciation.

World Muslimah 2013

The World Muslimah competition is held as a benefit relief of Muslim women in food crises, wars, conflicts and natural disasters.

Daud says she has a strong belief that all Muslim women should be highly educated.

“Because Islam encourages everyone to be a lifelong learner. I want to show the world the value of Muslim women, that they are not oppressed and limited by their culture and religion,” she says. “With nothing but our hands and faces showing, we must rely on our inner beauty to define our self-worth.”

 

The Publication

Pas udah di umumin kalo ternyata saya masuk TOP 20, rasa nya senang banget. Hehehe. Gak nyangka aja gitu. Ternyata usaha saya selama ini gak sia-sia. ALLAH memang Maha mendengar doa hamba-hamba Nya.

Beberapa hari kemudian, saya di interview sama media lokal. Pagi nya, seorang teman saya nge-tag sebuah foto di Facebook. Pas di buka, saya terkejut. Ternyata hasil interview kemaren siang udah di muat di koran Aceh. Foto nya gede sekalii, di halaman pertama pula. OMG! Hahaha.

Udah gitu, langsung aja saya ngambil motor di garasi, tancap gas ke kiosk terdekat. Pas nyampe, langsung saya samperin bapak penjual koran.

"Pak pak, beli koran yang punya hari ini dong" kata saya gak sabaran.

Bapak penjual koran heran banget ngeliat tingkah saya.

"Ini dek koran nya" kata si bapak.

"Ini pak uang nya".

Saya tertawa geli pas ngebaca berita di halaman pertama.

"Kenapa dek?" tanya si bapak.

"Gak ada pak" jawab saya singkat.

Udah gitu si bapak ngambil koran juga, ngebaca halaman pertama.

"Eh ini mirip sama kamu. Jangan-jangan ini memang kamu ya?" tanya si bapak penasaran.

"Hehe. Emang mirip ya pak?" jawab saya mencoba bercanda.

"Iya ini kamu. Jadi sekarang kamu kuliah di Canada?"

"Iya pak. Oh ya pak, saya harus buru-buru pulang. Pamit dulu ya pak. Assalamualaikum"

"Oh iya iya. Saya doakan moga kamu sukses di ajang ini. Waalaikumsalam"

Baik sekali bapak ini mau doain saya. Tapi saya harus buru-buru karna pengen nunjukin koran nya ke orang tua dan adik-adik saya.

Pas nyampe rumah, langsung nunjukkin koran nya ke mama dan adik-adik saya. Mereka tertawa geli. Hehehe. Bangga banget kaya nya ngelihat saya masuk koran. Jadi artis lokal euuuyy :D hihihi

Kebetulan beberapa newspaper lokal di Aceh buat follow-up, muat berita tentang proses karantina selama di Jakarta dan Bandung. Saya tetap contact mereka, ceritain gimana perjalanan saya.

Kisah Dara Aceh Evawani Efliza di World Muslimah 2013

101 days ago by ILATeam 0

Setelah berhasil lolos menjadi 20 besar World Muslimah 2013, Evawani Efliza dara asal Aceh yang saat ini masih mengikuti masa karantina hingga 17 September mendatang di Subang, Bandung berbagi kisahnya bersama @iloveaceh.

Dara yang akrab disapa Eva ini mengaku bersyukur bisa masuk dalam 20 besar finalis dan bertemu dengan sejumlah peserta lainnya dari berbagai negara, dan mereka pun diperkenalkan kepada publik dalam sebuah acara press conference oleh panitia World Muslimah Foundation (MWF) beberapa waktu lalu di FX Mall, Jakarta.

“Ini merupakan acara untuk mengenalkan para finalis World Muslimah kepada publick (public expose),” sebut mahasiswi Psikologi di Universitas Mount Royal Calgary, Kanada tersebut.

Selama masa karantina Eva juga menyebutkan aktivitas sehari-hari para finalis sangat berkesan, mulai dari pagi hingga malam digembleng dengan sejumlah kegiatan positif.

“Setelah melakukan press conference di Jakarta, sorenya para finalis langsung diberangkat ke Bandung untuk menjalani proses karantina di sana. Kami menghabiskan waktu tiga hari di sana. Setiap paginya kami diharuskan bangun malam pukul 3.30 WIB untuk melaksanakan shalat tahajud berjamaah. Kemudian dilanjutkan dengan shalat shubuh lalu aktivitas-aktivitas lainnya pun mengikuti,” cerita Eva yang saat ini masuk sebagai nominasi 5 besar leader pengajian Alquran, yang akan mengawali opening caremony Malam Grand Final nanti, Rabu (18/9) malam di Balai Sarbini, Jakarta.

Eva juga menambahkan, yang membuat terkagum dengan 3rd Annual Award of World Muslimah tahun ini adalah inspirasi dari founder dan CEO World Muslimah, Ms. Eka Shanty. “Beliau terus mengingatkan kepada para finalis, jika ingin terkenal, maka bukan di sini tempatnya. Ajang ini lebih berfokus pada perbaikan karakter, menambah pengetahuan tentang Islam”, sebutnya.

Lebih lanjut Eva juga senang bisa berinteraksi dengan sesama finalis yang betul-betul bisa merasakan akrabnya persaudaraan. “Selama masa karantina diantara sesama finalis tidak ada yang namanya jealousy dan cat fighting (pertengkaran dua orang wanita, red). Disini saya benar-benar terasa persaudaraannya,” jelasnya.

Jangan lupa untuk dukung Evawani Efliza di World Muslimah 2013 sebagai terfavorit, bisa klik disini, lalu vote dua kali sampai keluar kata sukses. (ed)

Untuk info selanjutnya bisa di klik di sini:  I love Aceh

The Application

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801

Evawani Efliza

Aceh

Age	:	23
Occupation	:	Student
Alquran Read	:	Good
Language	:	English,Indonesia
Height	:	165 cm cm
Weight	:	50 kg kg
Twitter	:	@eflizae
Facebook	:	Evawani Efliza

FORMAL EDUCATION

Mount Royal University

Bachelor Degree

Psychology

Insha ALLAH 2015

MY HIJAB EXPERIENCE

I started wearing the hijab when I was in grade 6 while I still lived in Aceh, Indonesia. Students were required to wear hijabs. However, I did not understand the purpose of wearing a piece of cloth that covered my hair. I wore it because everyone wore it. Nobody had bothered to explain the reason why. I did not mind wearing the hijab at school because I thought I was being a good student by wearing it. I also wore it outside of school because Aceh is very strict with the hijab rule. My family and I moved to Canada in 2007 where I went to a public high school, and there were only a few Muslim girls who wore hijabs. The hijab was no longer required in school; as a result, I started to question why I was continuing to wear my hijab. At the time, it was also difficult to make friends. I felt different and I was not confident in myself either because of my hijab. I hated the idea of being different and I just wanted to fit in. As a result, I was a “part-time” hijabi for a while. I wore my hijab at school, but took it off when I was outside of school. However, when I was in grade 11 I saw a Muslim girl wearing the hijab who was so confident in herself and was also very involved in school activities. I admired her confidence and wanted to become like her. Soon, I realized the problem was not the hijab; it was me who was not proud of my identity as a muslim. In addition, I found a verse from the Quran which requires Muslim women to cover up as a way to value their beauty and show their devotion to ALLAH. Therefore, I was convinced and started to wear hijab permanently ever since. Now that I become a “full-time” hijabi, I feel closer to ALLAH. I also want to keep improving myself and my relationship with ALLAH. I also feel a sense of belonging, especially living in the West where Muslims are the minority. Whenever I meet other muslims, they would greet me with assalamualaikum (may peace be with you). I have never felt peaceful and respected. I thank ALLAH for giving me such blessing.

MY ELIGIBLE TO BECOME WORLD MUSLIMAH 2013

I admit that it is challenging to be a Muslim woman nowadays, especially for those who live in the West where they encounter discrimination. With nothing but hands and faces showing, we must rely on our inner beauty to define our self-worth. Although physical appearance is important and we should thank ALLAH for giving us such blessing, I do believe that beauty should not be based only on physical traits. True beauty comes from within, which is defined by our relationship with God and our characters. Furthermore, I do believe that Muslim women should be highly educated because Islam encourages everyone to be a lifelong learner. As a result, there are some achievements that I have acquired, and I thank ALLAH for showering me with such blessings. In elementary school, I was chosen to represent my school as one of the participants for the Tilawatil Qur’an competition where we were required to memorize and recite some short surahs. Unfortunately, I did not win; however, that did not stop me from learning . I continued learning and memorizing some short surahs ever since. As well, when I was in Junior High, I was a member of the school paduan suara. We often won second place and sometimes first place. I was also one of the dancers of Aceh traditional dance, Likok Pulo, and we represented our school whenever there were competitions. Furthermore, I participated in poetry competitions, and I was chosen to recite a poem at our school graduation. In Senior High, I mastered Science 14 and was placed on the Grade 11 Honor Roll. In addition, I was one of the writers for the school magazine. Currently, my writings have been published in the Rumba Bulletin (the first English magazine in Banda Aceh). As well, I received a Qur’an proficiency; I got an A in my online Qur’an course. In conclusion, by taking part in World Muslimah, I hope I can represent not only Indonesian muslimah but also other muslimah as a whole that Islam is a peaceful religion. Furthermore, I want to send the message that hijabs are not barriers for Muslim women to accomplish great things.

MY SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

When I was in high school, I was part of the school newspaper. That was when I realized writing is my passion. Since that time, I have created a blog where I write about a variety of topics, e.g., my university life, fashion, cooking and psychology. Because of my strong interest in psychology, I also plan to create a vlog on that topic where I would combine Islam and psychology. Additionally, I am one of the writers for the first English bulletin in Aceh, the Rumba Bulletin of the Rumoeh Bahasa Organization. During the week, other than going to school, I work part-time as a cashier at a retail store. On the weekends, I teach Qur’an to my younger cousins, and I continue to improve my understanding of Qur’an using an online program which is supported by my Indonesian mentor. In addition, I am part of the student association on my campus; specifically, I am involved with the Peer Support Centre which supports peers, both emotionally and financially. For example, we provide free breakfast every morning where everyone gets to come in and socialize. I am also part of the Sustainability Centre, which includes maintaining our campus vegetable garden and running a recycling program. As well, I participated in the Create a Better Now program in the winter semester where we taught students about the importance of taking care of the environment. Furthermore, I am part of the Muslim Student Association on campus. We had Islamic Awareness Week in the winter semester as well where we educated other students (muslims and non-muslims) about Islam. Not only that, we had Hijab challenge, where non-muslim women were asked to wear the hijabs and discuss their experiences later in the day. The main aim is to encourage the understanding of how it feels like to be muslim women in the west society. Similarly, we want to erase stereotypes and misconceptions that are attached to Hijab. Hijab is not a sign of oppression but rather a liberation to women.

You can also click on this link to find out more about World Muslimah 2013

Preparation for World Muslimah: Questions to Ask Yourself

The applicants have to fulfil the 3S (Soleha, Smart and Stylish!) as part of the requirement for the competition. As for me, here are some questions that I asked myself as the preparation for the competition.

Para applicants harus bisa memenuhi kriteria 3S, yaitu Soleha, Smart and Stylish untuk bisa terpilih sebagai finalis World Muslimah. Inilah beberapa pertanyaan yang saya tanyakan pada diri saya sendiri sebelum mengikuti ajang World Muslimah.

1. Soleha - What can I do to be more religious? Maybe I should learn Qur'an with tajwid? Maybe I should fix my character or even the way I behave and dress?

(Soleha - apa yang menjadikan saya lebih soleha? Mungkin dengan belajar membaca alquran dan tajwid? Mungkin dengan memperbaiki karakter, atau bahkan cara saya bergaul dan berpakaian)

2. Smart - What are the things I have achieved? What contributions I have made for Islam, environment, or in other aspects of life?

(Smart - prestasi apa yang sudah saya raih? Kontribusi apa yg sudah saya berikan? Baik dalam islam, lingkungan maupun di bidang lainnya?)

3. Stylish - Ask yourself, what contributions I have made in islamic fashion? You can write about islamic fashion on your blog, you can do hijab tutorial or you can be a muslimah model.

(Tanyakan pada diri sendiri, kontribusi apa yang telah saya berikan di bidang fashion islam? Kamu bisa menulis tentang fashion yang islami, bisa dengan melakukan hijab tutorial, atau kamu bisa menjadi seorang model muslimah.

The journey begins

In January 2013, I followed everything about World Muslimah, from 2011 to 2012. There weren't much information from 2011 really. There were only few youtube videos during the final night, and some from the quarantine process. But that was it! I kept checking till I found some youtube videos from 2012. I studied all the videos which made to TOP 20 and which did not. Then I came across a youtube video and a blog from one of the finalists from 2012. She also won as The Most Talented. I was really excited! Then I thought to myself, why not asking her about the whole process during World Muslimah 2012. Soo, I did. This is what I asked her . . .


"Assalamualaikum Khansa, I'm Eva from Aceh, salam kenal ;)
I've been reading most of your posts and I actually enjoyed them. Keep writing Khansa ;)
Also, I've been reading your posts from world muslimah beauty, and thanks so much for providing the details ;)

And to be honest, I would love to participate in WMB next year, Insya ALLAH. But, I'm little nervous about it cuz I've seen most contestants from last year. They were all awesome! Especially the winners. Not to mention, the most talented one ;)

But, one thing that I'm really nervous about is the fashion part. I'm not a model. I've never done catwalk or anything. But I'm interested and would love to challenge myself in this part ;) If you could, what advice would you give it to me so that I could at least be aware of what's going on in the competition from last year?
So that I could be a lil bit PD (confident) with catwalking , hehe :P

And if you could do me a favour, would you please write the details of your preparation to enter WMB, and also when you're finally chosen as the 100 semifinalists, 50 finalists, top 20. How were you guys chosen? was it only based on videos?
Also, the talent night, what was it about? and were you ask any questions during the finale?
Also during the quarantine, from day one to final night, what were you guys doing?
*I'm really sorry if I ask so many questions >,<
I'm sure this year's gonna be different from last year, but I'd love to just have an idea of what the competition is about.

Thanks you so much Khansa for you help and wish me luck ;)"

You can just click on this link World Muslimah 2012  and you'll find out all the details about World Muslimah 2012 ;)

NB: Huge thanks to Al-Khansa Salihah who has provided me with the Insight of World Muslimah 2012. I owe her big time! And I hope to do the same with you guys ;)

This is Khansa while playing hockey in the final night (for the talent night). How awesome is that?! By the way, we didn't have to perform our talents in front of the stage. We did it in front of ibu-ibu majilis taklim in Bandung ;)