Defending the right to learn: how Canada can support Afghan women and girls
Date: March 29, 2023, Wednesday
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Eastern Time
Event Description:
The important role of Afghan women in society is being undermined and they are deprived of their rights, including their right to education. Join a conversation with Afghan women living in Afghanistan and as refugees in Pakistan, to know more about their lived experiences and priorities with respect to education access. Learn from Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, Community World Service Asia and Presbyterian World Service & Development about the challenges they are facing in implementing projects to meet the education needs of Afghan women and girls. Find out how you as a Canadian can defend the rights of Afghan women and girls to learn and to live a life of dignity.
Please register by clicking this webinar registration link.
Our panelists:
Latifa, from Bamyan, Afghanistan
As a young woman who was fortunate to have had university education, Latifa feels it is her duty to empower other women and girls through education. She started her career as a teacher and has worked with government ministries, local as well as international non-government organizations on literacy programs for uneducated women, developing curricula and conducting environmental education for schools, and building capacity of men and women farmers on agricultural technology.
Murwarid, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan
An Afghan-Canadian, Murwarid has over two decades of experience working with various national and international organizations including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. In her current role at the Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan), she is responsible for program management and supports public engagement. Her expertise includes policy development, program design and management with a focus on gender equality, human rights, and women’s empowerment. She is a leader and advocate for women’s rights and the recipient of the CW4WAfghan Champion for Education Award in 2015.
Qudsia, from Wardak, Afghanistan
Passionate for social justice and women’s rights, Qudsia has taught in Kabul and has conducted numerous awareness sessions about the importance of girls’ and women’s education. Qudsia and her family belong to the Hazara ethnic group, fled Afghanistan in 2022, and are now living in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Aside from advocating for the rights of women and suppressed ethnicities, she works as a community mobilizer for a local non-government organization and teaches Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
Sosan, from Nangarhar, Afghanistan
Sosan completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Her hopes of pursuing a master’s degree were dashed due to the ban on higher education for women in Afghanistan. She taught in a private school and is currently working as a project officer for a girls’ education program in Afghanistan. She is passionate about empowering girls through education so they can be independent and be able to pursue their dreams.
Zainab, Community World Service Asia
Zainab has rich experience in humanitarian work, governance, organizational growth and enhancement, working with Community World Service Asia (CWSA) in the last 22 years as well as with other humanitarian institutions. She has worked both in Afghanistan and Pakistan on emergencies and development projects, which includes managing programs for Afghans, including refugees. She is part of the CWSA management team responding to the post-August 2021 emergency crisis that continues to this day on both sides of the border.
