![Photo Credit: The Star](http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2015/11/26/self-defence-course-empowers-muslim-women/self-defence-for-muslim-women.jpg.size.xxlarge.letterbox.jpg)
In these times of increasing Islamophobia, especially in light of the recent Paris and San Bernardino attacks, a Muslim woman in Toronto has opened a self-defense workshop geared to Muslim girls and women who are often the targets of anti-Muslim incidents, especially those that wear the hijab.
Arij Elmi is a certified instructor of Wen-Do and talks about taking a defensive attitude. “To be fair, the onus should not lie on me to have to say something to that person,” says the instructor. “We, as a collective, have to show that this is unacceptable and that we will not tolerate it.”