"For the little girl that didn't know a word of English or French, then to graduate in University with both official languages, I felt victorious." -Rahma Mohamed
Literature has always been a passion of Rahma's. Having to forego pursuing her college studies in literature to satisfy her immigrant parents' need for security in choosing a career, Rahma found her way back to her passion unexpectedly. Having never read a children's book herself, Rahma became fascinated with the value and legacy in nurturing and sharing this childhood experience with her own children. As she tried to create this experience with her children, she realized the scarcity of diversity and representation in children's literature. Because of the lack of diversity in the market for Muslim Children’s Book, she decided to self-publish children’s books to encourage kids to be proud of their uniqueness, spread awareness, and celebrate diversity.
Join us in this episode as we talk about diversity in literature, storybooks and parenting with Rahma Mohamed, a children’s storybook author. In this Episode, We Talk About:
- Rahma’s early school and career experience
- What made Rahma walk the path of being a Children’s Storybook Author
- What it feels like to be the only child of color in your class
- How to raise your child so that they have self-confidence within themselves
- Why literature representation for people of color is important
- The role of diversity in literature
Where to reach Rahma Mohamed:
Rahma Mohamed's Bio:
Rahma Mohamed was born and raised in Hargeisa, Somalia. At the age of eight, her family immigrated to Quebec, Canada where she attended her first formal school in French. She mastered both French and English and became the first to graduate from University in her family.
She didn’t learn to read until she was at the age of ten. When she learned to read, a new world opened up to her. And she read all kinds of stories. But sadly, she never found herself in any of them.
Once she became a mother, she set out to self-publish children’s books to encourage youth to be proud of their uniqueness by celebrating diversity.
Fueled by her struggles and life experience, she became determined to offer books centered on characters that are Muslim and with African roots.
She firmly believes that children need to be able to identify themselves in the book they read to enhance their self-confidence as well as bolster their sense of pride. She writes under the pen name Rahma Rodaah which is her first name and middle name combined.
Mentioned from this episode:
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