A Toast to Unpaid Labour

On Saturday 12th March, MEND and AMINA hosted “A Toast to Unpaid Labour”, an in-person event to celebrate International Women’s Day 2022. To bring women together and celebrate their unpaid labour, MEND asked attendees to each bring their own dish for everybody to enjoy together.

The event began with heart-warming speeches by spokeswomen from MEND, AMINA and Vibrant Scottish Mosques, all of which touched on the importance of the behind-the-scenes work that women across the globe accomplish daily. The MEND Regional Manager highlighted that many women use the word “just” before their societal role/job, ie. “I’m just a carer”, “I’m just a stay-at-home mum”. She continued on to say that using the word “just” diminishes the significance of their roles, which should be applauded as they aren’t easy jobs; in fact, we need those women in order to function as a society!

The attendees then participated in a game of Human Bingo, wherein their task was to find attendees who had jobs such as a carer or mother and accomplishments like setting up their own project or changing the world in their own way. The game was a moving way for attendees to connect with each other and make friends.

After the icebreaking game, a line formed to enjoy food that had been made and brought by the attendees themselves, from samosas and pakoras to cupcakes and date bites. This then led everybody to the tepee, where a question workshop was carried out, giving conversation-starters such as “in which situation do you feel most like yourself?”. Discussions were initiated and attendees sat and ate and talked amongst themselves, a lovely end to the event.

Thank you to AMINA for co-hosting this event, the Vibrant Scottish Mosques spokeswoman for her lovely speech, and all attendees for coming along and making the event fantastic!