The Arab Student Association and Muslim Student Association collaborated to bring the community a ladies’ henna night Friday.
MSA Board Member Event Coordinators Lina Adosari and Liz Christensen said they led the festivities to strengthen these communities and bond through a night of sisterhood.
Both student organizations at Iowa State seek their community members through outreach that expands knowledge within their communities and raises awareness and education about topics meaningful to their members.
The members of these two organizations gathered together to participate in the art of henna, which was both celebratory and symbolic. Throughout the evening, members socialized with each other and practiced the art of henna on themselves and others.
The art of henna itself has a rich cultural and religious heritage within both communities.
“Henna kind of originates as a beauty culture in like the Middle Eastern background and South Asian background,” Adosari said. “So, henna originates from back then as like a beauty standard that women do.”
Members of the Arab Student Association Fatemah Almahmeed, a senior studying architecture, and Amani Taleb, a graduate student studying architecture, practiced the art of henna on each other throughout the night and shared their personal relation to the art form.
“We did it at the Arab night last semester, and I was like ‘No, I’m not doing this,’ but this time I don’t know, maybe I’m feeling more connected to my culture. It’s nice,” Taleb said.
“For me, it’s kind of like celebrating girlhood but within the borders of our culture, so I think being here within the Arab Students Association has been really enriching to find a community and see them at every event and have something that connects us even though we’re from different countries,” Almahmeed said. “Then narrowing us down further to women, and sharing these moments with girlhood within our culture is meaningful to me.”
The MSA will continue to meet tentatively once per week, enriching themselves with culture, tradition, community and heritage. For information on meeting dates and times, reach out to the organization at [email protected].
For more information on the MSA, visit their website, or follow their Facebook page.
For more information on the ASA, visit their website and follow their Instagram or Facebook page.
