TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 22-28, 2022 26
South Queens Women’s March celebrates opening of new office
the younger me. Our space
will be a resource hub, a
safe space for survivors, a
community-centered space
for monthly pantries, healing
activities and workshops,
and a space where
we cultivate grassroots
organizing to build a movement,”
Rozario said.
As April 16 commemorated
several religious holidays
including Easter, Hanuman
Jayanti, Ramadan
and Passover, the program
began with invocation
prayers reflective of south
Queens’ diverse faith traditions.
Debora Chaitlall,
SQWM member turned
part-time organizer, gave a
tearful reflection about the
organization’s impact on
her life.
“Finding SQWM has
been the best thing that
happened to me. I’m a
part of a community and I
have my sisters to help me
through any challenges I
face. I hope I can be there
for them in the same way,”
Chaitlall said.
For too long, a space
like this did not exist in the
community, according to
Aminta Kilawan-Narine,
founder and director of
SQWM.
For over two years,
SQWM has been working
hard to fulfill its mission
to promote gender justice
on its streets, to connect
women, girls and genderexpansive
people to the
tools needed to survive and
thrive, and to honor their
many struggles while centering
joyously on its immense
resilience.
It’s been Kilawan-
Narine’s longtime dream
to organize a mass of women
of all intersections to
march on the streets for
women’s rights. SQWM has
allowed Kilawan-Narine
to find her purpose. After
learning of 27-year-old
Donna Dojoy’s death by
her husband in Ozone Park
in 2019, Kilawan-Narine
thought about the many
women who could’ve used
an outlet like SQWM in the
community, she said.
“We shouldn’t just mobilize
during tragedy; we
should also cultivate inclusive
and intersectional
mechanisms to empower
women on these streets —
the streets that raised us
— in the name of justice for
women, girls and gender
expansive people,” Kilawan
Narine said.
Though the work isn’t
glamorous and is hard and
grueling, Kilawan-Narine
says the group genuinely
enjoys doing it.
“People ask how we
are able to do so much. We
do more in a month than
many fully staffed, wellresourced
organizations
do in a year. We all do this
for the love of community.
Not for personal gain, or
for accolades and praise or
for social media followers.
This isn’t charity work; it
is solidarity work, and you
see that in the way we treat
people,” Kilawan-Narine
said.
At the height of the COVID
19 pandemic, the organization
poured its hearts
into meeting its community
where they are.
SQWM began with an idea
to host a women’s march
in the south Queens community,
starting with five
dedicated women of many
intersections. The pandemic
prevented the march
from happening but the
organization still followed
through with its mission.
Today, SQWM has a
growing membership of
over 70 individuals who
power an unshakeable
movement.
Harmehar Kohli, founding
board of SQWM, recalled
handing out flyers
about the march door to
door down Lefferts Boulevard.
According to Kohli,
she didn’t think any of their
members ever imagined the
day would come when they
opened their own office in
the community.
“The opening of this location
is a testament to the
need for more resources in
south Queens and a clear
yearning for community
amongst our female residents.
This location is a
long awaited space for dynamic
creation, empowerment
and compassion in
our neighborhood and I feel
so blessed and humbled to
be a part of this momentous
day,” Kohli said.
Read more on QNS.com.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
It was a joyous day for
members of South Queens
Women’s March as they
were joined by elected officials
and community leaders
to celebrate the opening
of their new office space in
Richmond Hill on Saturday,
April 16, with a ribboncutting
ceremony followed
by prayers, performances
and remarks.
About 75 people attended
the event held at the
new office, located at 130-01
Liberty Ave. New York City
Council Speaker Adrienne
Adams, Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards,
Councilwoman Selvena
Brooks-Powers and
Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson
shared their well
wishes for the organization.
Light refreshments at
the ribbon-cutting were
provided by Tropical Isle
Roti Shop, Little Guyana
Pharmacy and Cafe,
Shivram’s Bakery, Singh’s
Roti Shop and the Shakti
Mission. The event featured
an intersectional
dance performance from
SQWM members Anjali
Seegobin, Sabrina Mohammed
and Sacha Sulaiman.
For Tannuja Rozario,
founding board member
of SQWM, the new office
space is a dream that her
younger self wishes she
had growing up in south
Queens.
“As a gender justice organization,
it is critical to
have a space that can be a
home away from home for
community members and
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