Happy Women's History Month, Everyone! Check out some exciting news about the AWCM's upcoming activities and events, and see some of our past activities and events.

Embracing the Equity for Afghan Women’s Right to Education – March 07

HYBRID: On March 07, at UQAM, the AWCM held a conference for our International Women’s Day Conference titled Embracing the Equity for Afghan Women’s Right to Education. The event occurred in a hybrid setting with local and global participants. During this conference, we shed light on the importance of acknowledging the provision of education for Afghan women and its eminence that has been absent from the global discourse.

 Thank you all for joining us and using your presence and voices to amplify, advocate and empower those women who are the victim of human rights violations during this crucial moment and are excluded from their inherent right to Education together!

We sincerely are filled with gratitude and thank you for your stimulating speeches. Your comments were constructive as we tried to find solutions during this ban on women’s inherent right to education. We hope you can all join us again soon!

Last but not least, we would love to thank our lovely staff, volunteers and members for helping with the preparation and ensuring everything was neat and tidy during and after the event.

Check out our Executive Director, Victoria Jahesh, talking with CBC News days before the event:

Women's leadership Conference – March 08

IN PERSON: On March 08, for international women's day, the AWCM had the pleasure of participating as a speaker bringing the focus of the audience to women's leadership and to our chosen theme for this year's IWD– Embracing the Equity for Afghan Women's Rights to Education We happily celebrated with many other women's organizations in the NDG district.  

Welcoming Newcomers

On a weekly basis, the AWCM receives numerous calls and visits from newly arrived refugees. We are grateful to be able to support them by coming to their aid in helping them find housing, administrative assistance,  donations and the necessary tools, such as a laptop, to help them cope with their integration into this new society. Thank you for trusting us!

Interviews for our Upcoming Book Project

The AWCM is committed to working on a second series of stories from the book “Immigrant Women, Narrative of Pain & Resilience,”  this time the testimonies surrounding both racialized and non-racialized women within Canadian society.

This is a unique way to bring awareness about systemic racism and discrimination and give space to senior women who never had the chance to be heard or understood. Many of these women carry so much inspiring and life-changing history that will have an educational impact on future generations.  We were honoured to interview Mounira Abdul-Samad and write down her moving stories, so they are never lost.

Nowruz 1402 – March 21

National Nutrition Month - TBD

In honour of Nutrition Month, our members will be gathering together for our Collective Kitchen Series to shed light on healthy diet options.  Stay tuned for more details!

Conference with Université de Montréal – March 30

The AWCM is pleased to be invited by Université de Montréal to speak about the concerns of refugee women, and how our Centre supports them. Stay tuned for more details!

Virtual International Women's Day Event – March 08

On March 08, for International Women’s Day, our president and founder, Makai Aref, and our Executive Director, Victoria Jahesh, were invited to speak at the Virtual Event advocating for the rights of the women of Afghanistan. 

Les droits des femmes au travail

The AWCM was pleased to participate in this important information session about Women's rights in the workplace and pay equity. We gained essential knowledge about the working standards in the province of Quebec. This information session will be happening again in the future at our centre. Stay tuned!

Course Schedule

To access the courses click the buttons below OR, if you prefer to manually enter in the credentials on Zoom

Zoom ID: 355 835 7628

Passcode: 548129

In Other News

UN Information about Women’s Rights to Education

On March 8, The United Nations (UN) held a meeting where the Security Council emphasized that the Restrictions on Women’s Rights, escalating Hunger, and insecurity is taking a devastating toll in Afghanistan. The Members stressed the urgent need for the Taliban to reverse their current order, a more expeditious response to the humanitarian crisis, as well as the extension of the UN Mission in Afghanistan.

Temporary Public Policy for Sponsorship

This temporary public policy will let you immigrate to Canada if you are extended family members of former language and cultural advisors (LCAs) who

• live in Canada

• are Canadians, citizens or permanent residents

• worked for the Department of National Defence (DND) in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021

Ramadan – March 22 to April 20

Ramadan Kareem to all our friends and community partners celebrating Ramadan.  We wish this Ramadan will infuse you with courage that will help you be triumphant over the adversities of life.