i specifically work with teenage girls who find great difficulty in reciting the Qur'ān, have very low confidence, and have lost hope. i listened to an 18 yo struggle through Sūrat al-Nās. i don't mean that she struggled with the tajwīd. i mean she didn't know the words.

they're out there in your community, too. seek them and offer them your time. many of them accept if you are known to them as they trust you and feel comfortable with you. it's very difficult for them to recite initially as there are psychological barriers. create the space first

we need to finely curate these spaces for women because nobody else will. the issue is exacerbated when they grow up and perhaps attend university. they want to improve but they don't know where to start. where can they find a beginner class wherein they feel comfortable? at 21?

i received a message from a girl saying she does not even follow me, but she has been trying to relearn the basics without the influence of culture, and improve her salāh and recitation. where does she go? she thanked me for making this space. this is a systematic failure.

someone else may have expressed shock/ alarm at her not knowing the words in Sūrat Al-Nās. that would only weaken her confidence.
• we have decided to 'work on it together'
• we focus on quality not speed ('we're not in a hurry')
• speak of the *process*, externalise it

within a few months, her tajwīd is now actually superior to some of the local older women who have been studying tajwīd formally for years. they make mistakes that she doesnt. there is clarity in her recitation. she is a fast learner. I tell her all of this. Allāh increase her.

we have a focus on recitation, reflection and understanding. we discuss the meanings regularly in a dedicated class. again, it's a safe space, for teenage girls only. no older women allowed. they can ask questions and discuss. shaykh akram approves of this effort, alhamdulillāh.

some of the girls went to uni. they like the class so much that they told their uni friends about it — who were also in a similar position. again, systemic issue. this is not isolated to my locality.