Meet your candidates: SU Women’s Officer

Meet the candidates running to be your next Students’ Union Women’s Officer in this year’s spring elections.

Laila Ahmed

Hello! My name is Laila Ahmed. I am a first-year classics and philosophy student. This role is important to me as I have run a campaign for sexual assault, but also because I want to go into human rights law and advocating for women and equality is a huge aspect of that. As both a person of colour and a woman, I feel that the issues of sexism and racism should be amplified on campus and these groups need a representative that they can relate to regarding their struggles, as they are not alone. 

Why are you running for this role?

I am running for this role because I believe women on campus need a strong representative to help their issues be heard and currently, I think there are several things the university could do to try and broadcast women’s voices and opinions more. I would like to be in this role so that more women feel comfortable expressing their views and issues. It is a role that is personal to me and I would take it with the upmost importance.

What, in your opinion, most needs changing at Warwick?

I believe that Warwick needs more emphasis on their support lines and eradicating sexism and rape culture which is unfortunately still a prominent issue. I would like to help combat this the most because I know several students who feel uninformed and need more guidance and support, so by becoming a women’s officer I would like to focus my efforts on that. 

What has been your favourite memory from your time at Warwick?

My favourite memory is definitely starting the sexual assault campaign. Seeing all the people that turned up to the protest was such a phenomenal feeling because I felt that all together change could be made as we outnumbered the university greatly. This was illuminated when my petition went viral and I started getting interviewed because I felt that our issues were being taken seriously and that I had helped people. I couldn’t have done it without all the supporters! 

Eman Barreh and Naomi Carter ENE

Hey, we’re Naomi and Eman, running together for Women’s Officer!

Warwick, as it is, is not a welcoming place for many women. The toxic culture of sexual assault continues to plague our campus, concealed with lengthy emails and Moodle courses yet with little tangible action. This is part of Warwick’s wider failure to consider the intersections of women’s identities and how this impacts their university experiences.

We cannot tackle one issue without the other, and we, alongside the rest of the Education Not Exploitation (ENE) team will commit everything we can to make this university a space for all women.

Why are you running for this role?

We believe that the women of Warwick deserve to take up space – we deserve to be heard and included, and not just at the margins of conversations. We want to run to amplify the voices of all women both on and off campus and to include them in SU decision making. Our passion for anti-sexist and anti-racist activism means we have the drive to push for an intersectional approach to university policy, including tackling sexual assault and period poverty.

What, in your opinion, most needs changing at Warwick?

Fundamentally, Warwick needs to change the toxic culture that perpetuates sexual harassment and assault, and marginalises women from being able to speak out about this or be respected as they do so. This needs to address the all-too-common lack of respect for trans women, black women and women of colour, Muslim women, LGBTQ+ women, and all other intersecting identities. Along with the rest of the ENE team, we want to push for structural changes within the SU that consider this!

What has been your favourite memory from your time at Warwick?

It has to be the two protests of first term – against Polish abortion laws and the uni’s pathetic response to sexual assault. Whilst in an ideal world we wouldn’t need to protest, there’s so much power in seeing so much turnout and solidarity! From the poster making to the speeches, there’s a great energy from everyone. Plus it’s where we met each other!

Sara Drummond-Curtis

Hi, I’m Sara (she/her), a first-year maths student running for Women’s Officer. I’m horrified and ashamed to see accusations of sexual assault appear practically every week. Seeing people say they cannot recommend the university to their female friends is heartbreaking. We can – and must – do better than this. Decisive action needs to be taken by the SU and University senior management to ensure that students feel safe and that people do not think they can get away with this sort of behaviour. If elected, I would fight tirelessly to make the University of Warwick a safe place for everyone.

Why are you running for this role?

I am running for this role so that the SU has an officer that will put sexual assault awareness front and centre. There has been campus-wide outrage and protest over the current state of things, but all the actions the SU propose seem only to change existing infrastructure and are not bold enough to properly tackle the issue. I believe my proposals will allow the change that is so desperately needed to occur.

What, in your opinion, most needs changing at Warwick?

The current sexual assault procedures are embarrassing and inadequate. Victims have to relive their trauma multiple times if they want to properly report someone, the tribunals are intrusive and unsympathetic and the system is designed purely to make sure the University saves as much face as possible. Warwick has been at the centre of national media scandals for sexual misconduct, and yet their responses remain wholly underwhelming – it is genuinely baffling.

What has been your favourite memory from your time at Warwick?

Despite the disruption caused by Covid for my first year, I have a number of fond memories. One that I cherish deeply is my time in the Basketball society when I was able to play with the women’s basketball team. Although we were unable to have any games, we still began to come together as a diverse, yet united team. I really appreciated having the support and company of an all-female group outside of my halls and course.

Nelly Bartakova Unity in Diversity

Candidate did not respond.

Emilie Eisenberg

Candidate did not respond.

Naisha Fartyal 

Candidate did not respond.

Lucia Tenorio

Candidate did not respond.

Disclaimer: candidates’ answers have not been edited. The opinions featured here do not reflect the opinions of The Boar.