Kubra Zakir, the Vice-President External at the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU), resigned on March 29, citing professional disagreements and “islamophobia, unfairness, mistreatment” in her resignation letter. The resignation letter, posted to the union’s Facebook page, has since been removed.
Zakir noted that during her term as VP External, she “had the opportunity to work on campaigns, events, and services that better the experiences of marginalized students on our campus.”
Zakir wrote that “many professional disagreements” prevented her from continuing on in her job — which was slated to end next month, when the new union executive takes over — but that ultimately the decision to resign was personal.
“Due to the level of islamophobia, unfairness, mistreatment of other executives, constantly being silenced and tone-policed, and in the resistance in my role that I have faced, I feel unsafe coming to work,” reads her resignation letter.
“To allow myself to safely heal, stepping away from the pain the SCSU has caused me is a good decision for me at this point,” she continued.
While Zakir noted that “neoliberal activism is not in [her] mandate,” she added that she will instead shift to “grassroots organizing which will allow me from the bottom-up to bring a difference on our campus.”
“I cannot take back the mental trauma caused in such a toxic work environment, but I have learned a lot from this experience,” wrote Zakir.
SCSU President Sitharsana Srithas and Zakir did not respond to The Varsity’s requests for comment.
