Please join us on Tuesday, November 16, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM EST as we discuss the ways Canada can better support Afghan women.
Speakers
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| Paulette Senior, Moderator |
| President and CEO @Canadian Women’s Foundation |
| Paulette Senior is President & CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. She has devoted her career to empowering women and girls to overcome barriers and reach their full potential. Paulette started her career on the front lines of social service organizations in some of Toronto’s most underserved neighbourhoods. She saw how social resources and systemic change could transform women’s lives. Through her work and advocacy with shelters, as well as employment and housing programs, she has earned numerous awards and become one of the most respected women leaders in Canada. In 2021, she received an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Lethbridge. Paulette joined the Foundation in 2016, after 10 years as CEO of YWCA Canada. Her work with the Foundation is guided by the vision of an inclusive, national movement toward gender equity that will strengthen all Canadians. |
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| Senator Ratna Omidvar, Opening Remarks |
| Independent Canadian Senator and World Refugee & Migration Council member |
| Ratna Omidvar is an internationally recognized voice on migration, diversity and inclusion. In April 2016, Ms. Omidvar was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent Senator representing Ontario. As a member of the Senate’s Independent Senators Group she holds a leadership position as Liaison. Senator Omidvar also served as Deputy Chair of the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector |
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| Debbie Douglas |
| Executive Director @Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) |
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| Mariam Safi |
| @DROPS |
| Mariam Safi is the founding Director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS), an independent and multidisciplinary policy-oriented research institute based in Kabul and Toronto. |
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| Victoria Jahesh |
| Executive Director @Afghan Women’s Centre of Montreal |
| Victoria Jahesh is the executive director of the Afghan Women’s Centre of Montreal. Victoria plays an advocacy role for immigrant women’s rights, as she went through the same immigration paths and understands the real challenges faced by the newly arrived. She devoted and served them using her knowledge of four languages in various aspects to empower socially isolated women. |
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| Zainab Jamal |
| @Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) |
