Join us for a panel discussion with leading researchers and activists focusing on contemporary issues concerning women in the Middle East. Meet the speakers:
Sharifa Sharif is an Afghan–Canadian feminist author who has worked in the areas of adult education, women and development, community development, journalism and politics in Kabul, Canada, India and Prague.
Manal Hamzeh is an associate professor in the Women’s Studies Program at New Mexico State University. Dr. Manal’s research draws on anti-racist/decolonizing educational theories and currently focuses on the politics of gender and sexuality in the January 25th Egyptian Revolution.
Afiya S. Zia is a feminist researcher and pro-democracy activist from Pakistan. She is currently completing a manuscript for publication titled, Faith and Feminism in Pakistan. Afiya is also pursuing research for her PhD in Women & Gender Studies from the University of Toronto. She is an active member of Women’s Action Forum – a secular women’s rights organization in Pakistan and an advisory board member of the Centre for Secular Space (UK).
Dr. Linda Tabar is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Women & Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. Her research is situated within the field of anti-colonial, anti-racist feminist scholarship. Dr. Tabar’s articles on colonial violence, memory and the pacifying effects of the aid regime on anti-colonial movements have appeared in a number of journals.
Ghadeer Malek is a Palestinian feminist activist, writer, and spoken word poet. She founded and was Editor of 4 issues of AQSAZine, a collective zine produced by young Muslim women in Toronto using art and creative expression to address gender-based violence issues. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Adult Education and Community Development at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Ghadeer is also co-coordinator of the Young Feminist Activism program at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) and manages the Young Feminist Wire, an online community of young feminists.
Women and Gender Studies Institute