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Since the loss of her mother to domestic violence and her father's conviction, Chester Hill local, Amani Haydar, has used her legal and creative skills to address violence against women.

The 2020 Local Woman of the Year for Bankstown is a face of advocacy in the community, pushing for legal reform on issues from homicide sentencing procedures, to paid parental leave for pregnant women affected by violence.

Haydar turned to expressing herself through writing as a form of therapy, since featuring multiple works in ABC News Online, SBS Voices, Arab Australian Other and Sweatshop Women.

Her 2021 memoir The Mother Wound, will be featured alongside the meaningful works of sixteen other Muslim-Australian writers at the Sydney Muslim Writers Festival.

“In my memoir, I tell the story of my own trauma and the personal and political dimensions of domestic violence,” Haydar said.

“It can be really political empowering, hearing stories from peoples own lived experiences.”

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour said he is proud to see the first Sydney Muslim Writers Festival take place at the Bryan Brown Theatre.

“The festival provides a space for Muslim writers and thinkers to discuss and share their experiences,” Mayor Asfour said.

“Canterbury-Bankstown is home to many Muslims from diverse cultural backgrounds, and I’m so proud to have the festival take place in our City.

“I encourage everyone to come down and hear the diverse voices expressed through literature.”

Haydar said it’s promising to see an event, as big as the Sydney Muslim Writers Festival, showcasing such a diverse group of Muslim writers.

“It’s going to be really dynamic and people can hear from a lot of different authors in Western Sydney,” Haydar said.

"Perhaps this is a chance for people to engage with literature that is different to what they have been reading.”

The Sydney Muslim Writers Festival will take place on Saturday 12 February, 9.30am-6pm at the Bryan Brown Theatre in Bankstown.

Writers featured in the festival will take part in a panel discussion to exchange ideas between panellists and the audience. Audience members will have the opportunity to engage, learn and ask questions from the writers.

The festival will also feature acclaimed international speakers, Dr Abdul Hakim Murad and Joram van Klaveren to discuss their latest literary works.

The Sydney Muslim Writers Festival is pioneered by the Islamic Sciences and Research Academy of Australia (ISRA) and sponsored by Booktopia.

To register, visit cb.city/SMWF2022