“Stand Up, Speak Out Leadership: Muslim Women Promoting Diversity and Educating Communities”

Facilitator Biographies

Sabra Desai

Sabra Desai is a Kellogg Fellow, a human rights activist, educator and counsellor/therapist.  A professor at Humber College, and the courses she teaches range from Social Psychology, Counselling and Cross Cultural Skills in the School of Social and Community Services. Sabra is a member of the Professional Development Council and a member of the Tragic Events Support Network at Humber. She was also a valued member of the Humber Academic Council as well as a member of the Council’s Executive Committee.  Her volunteer work, professional interventions and research have gained her recognition as an activist-educator. She has in excess of fifteen years experience in training, consulting and teaching on issues of sexism, “racism”, equity and access here in Canada and abroad and has conducted anti-racism, human rights education and training in Ethiopia, Guyana and South Africa.  She has also worked as a consultant for the Carter Centre, Human Rights Program, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
For the past few years she has worked with individuals living with HIV and AIDS   living on the Hibiscus Coast, Natal, South Africa.  Currently she is working hard to raise funds here in Canada to help a young man to fulfill his dream to pursue college education because he is the hope for his mother headed family who is HIV positive. For her commitment to education, activism and community service she has been recognized with several awards including the New Pioneers Award, and the Human Rights Award.  

Suzanne Muir
Suzanne is an educator and children's author from Burlington, Ontario.  She is employed at the Halton District School Board as the Diversity Coordinator, supporting schools in their goal towards equity in education.  She is the mother of thee children and enjoys a variety of hobbies and sports.

Zubeda Vahed
Zubeda Vahed has energetically devoted herself to improving the lives of young people and their families in their schools and in their communities.  As the former Equity Officer: Race Relations for the Peel District School Board she analyzed staff and student needs, co-ordinated staff in-service, and worked with young people and families in distress; she also mediated and resolved conflicts at the school and community levels. Zubeda has also evaluated text books for the Ministry of Education and had produced a number of resource guides: Unity in Diversity: A Resource Guide for Race and Ethnocultural Equity, Opening and Closing Exercises: A Resource Guide for Ontario Schools, and Manifesting Encouraging and Respectful Environments.  Her extensive work included consulting with local, national and international communities on issues of racism, sexism, faith and equity. Zubeda Vahed was made a Fellow of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation  for her outstanding contribution to the profession and for her volunteerism. Currently, she is a Trustee on the Board of the Ansaar Foundation and a Consultant with Diversityworx.  Zubeda is currently working on her doctorate at the University of Toronto. Her research focus is gender, faith and race.

Presenter Biographies

Fatima Abdulrasul
Fatima has her Masters in Environmental Studies, her Honours Bachelor of Science, as well as a certificate in Technical Writing.  Fatima volunteers extensively within the Muslim community and co-founded the Muslim Women’s Basketball League.

Ayesha Adam
Ayesha expertise lies in mediation and law.  Ayesha is well known in the Muslim and mainstream communities and has been involved in the media for a number of years speaking about Tribunal Law.  She is married with one child.

Fatima Ahmed
Fatima is a recent immigrant to Canada from Pakistan and is studying Engineering at the University of Waterloo.  Fatima has received awards for public speaking, citizenship and human rights and was a finalist in the “Top 20, Under 20” national program.

Zalina Ally
Zalina’s primary field of interest has been in providing Health Care support and education.  Previously, Zalina was a mathematics teacher and volunteered at elementary and secondary schools.  She also served as Co-Chair and Executive Member on various school councils.  Zalina also enjoys teaching Islamic studies to children and likes to advocate that “to educate a women is to educate a nation.”

Zubeda Bawa

Zubeda is a domestic engineer (a stay at home mother) and has one daughter.  Zubeda spends a lot of her time volunteering within the public school system where she helps children with reading, science projects, math and other subject areas.

Zaiba Beg
Zaiba is a teacher and has her Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, as well as an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Psychology.  Zaiba is qualified as an ESL specialist and a First Steps Tutor within the Peel District School Board, where she has worked for more than ten years.  She provides professional development to staff through education, as well as through anti-racism, global citizenship and environmental initiatives at the grassroots level. 

Maryam Dadabhoy
Maryam has been married and living in Toronto for two years.  Mayram has her B. A. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems.  Maryam works for CAIR-CAN as the Toronto Community Relations Coordinator and is a board member for FMW and ISSA.

Lorena El-Shater
Lorena El-Shater converted to Islam in January 2002. She is currently in her fourth year at the University of Guelph, studying Sociology and Political Science. Lorena is the President of the Muslim Students Association at Guelph University, and is volunteering as a Big Sister.

Hoda Fahmy
Hoda is married with four children.  She has her Ph.D. and Masters in Computer Science as well as her Bachelors of Science in Computers and Biochemistry.  Hoda has worked for IBM, The University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo.  She also has extensive experience within the Muslim communities in various capacities.

Farah Hameed
Farah is married with three children and has a large family which resides in the United Kingdom.  Farah has her Bachelor of Arts in English from McMaster University and her Bachelors of Education from Brock University.  She is a full time teacher and enjoys reading, traveling and reading and listening to the news.

Zehra Haffajee
Zehra is the youngest Chairperson of The Federation of Muslim Women (FMW).  She is also the Education Director at the Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services of Halton.  A graduate of The University of Toronto, she has her Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology with an emphasis on gender relations, cross-cultural studies and race and ethnicity.  Zehra is experienced in giving presentations to both children and adult audiences.  With over 10 years of experience working at the grassroots level, Zehra’s work focuses on anti-racism education, interfaith dialogue and access and accommodation for individuals who are linguistically, culturally and religiously diverse.  She is also a strong advocate for individuals with both visible and invisible disabilities.  In her spare time, Zehra writes poetry and children’s stories.

Shanaaz Haffejee
Shanaaz is the Membership Co-ordinator for the Federation of Muslim Women.  Shanaaz has extensive experience in the field of advocacy, and access and accommodation for individuals with disabilities.  As a community consultant, Shanaaz brings a unique perspective to many community issues by outlining the intersectionalities between race, gender, faith, class, and ability.  Shanaaz has experience working with special needs children at the grade six level at Thomas Street Middle School. She has also done several presentations in schools at the grade two to four levels.  Shanaaz is a member of Ethno-Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario (ERDCO) and the Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA).

Nadia Hosein
Nadia has three children and is a co-op student in computer studies.  Nadia has studied Islamic studies with the intention to learn more and is skilled in computer technology.  Nadia enjoys attending seminars, conferences and lectures.

Sharon Hoosein
Sharon has a Masters of Nursing and is a Nurse Practitioner in Neurosurgery Division at Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga for the past three years. She has over twelve years experience as a registered nurse in neurosurgery, trauma, ICU and emergency.  Sharon is an executive member of the International Nurses Interest Group and Vice-Chair of the Federation of Muslim Women.  Sharon has visited Indonesia post tsunami with a medical team and Palestine to tour refugee camps, clinics and hospitals.

Nasrin Hotaki
Nasrin has successfully completed the “Stand Up, Speak Out Leadership” training.

Sadia Husain

Sadia is a third year student at the University of Toronto studying DEM, Digital Enterprise Management with CCIT, Communication, Culture and Information Technology.  Sadia volunteers with the Muslim Students’ Association and has received a volunteer award from  Mayor Hazel McCallion.  Sadia also works part time at U of T Career Centre and initiated a youth program on Radio IRC.

Shyrose Jaffer Dhalla
Shyrose is married with two children.  Shyrose has her Bachelor of Arts and her Masters of Education.  She is a freelance writer and Anti-Racist Education Counselor.  Shyrose is also a playwright and has produced many dramas dealing with social issues.

Salha Salim Jeizan
Salha has her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Minnesota.  She is a teacher of English and History.  Salha is the chairwoman of UWA – Umoja Women’s Association and volunteers at MIAG.  She has been involved in many community activities since her arrival in Canada only three years ago.  Salha has three children and enjoys swimming and reading and has just started skiing.

Zubeida Joseph

Zubeida was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and studied Nursing with a focus on midwifery.  Zubeida is the mother of two sons.  She worked as a registered nurse at the Hospital for Sick Children for twenty-eight years and is currently retired.  Zubeida assisted in establishing Talim-ul-Islam and has been involved in many Muslim activities as well as the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis Society and the walk to raise awareness for Breast Cancer.

Mojdeh Kazemi
Mojdeh has successfully completed the “Stand Up, Speak Out Leadership” training.

Romana Khan
Romana is the mother of two children and is currently doing her degree in Math at York University.  Romana will be applying to Teacher’s College and enjoys co-coordinating and volunteering at multicultural events at schools.

Assia Maameri
Assia is the mother of two children and has been in Canada for three years.  Assia speak four languages, Arabic, French, Berber and English.  She has her degree in Business and her Masters in Economics from Algeria.  Assia gives private French lessons.

Priscilla Hajar Machado

Hajar was born in Panama and converted to Islam in 1991.  She has extensive working experience and volunteer community involvement with both Muslims and non-Muslim organizations.  She has a diploma as a Social Service Worker an in 1999 Hajar founded and became the Executive Director of The Alternative For Her Community Centre (TAFHCC) a multilingual community based non-profit organization with the mission to arrange recreational and physical activities and provide social services in a culturally-sensitive manor to all women and children. 

Kharen Malek
Kharen is a Certified Arbitrator and Mediator; she is married and has three teenage children.  She works full-time and has her Diplomas in Business Administration and Legal Secretary.  Kharen has experience working with Muslim non-profit agencies as well as working with mosques as a mediator/counselor in the area of domestic violence and marital disputes. She has been called upon to liaise with the Children’s Aid Society and provides input to many organizations and also does guest lecturing.

Naphisa Malek
Naphisa is nineteen years old and is studying Social Work at College.  Naphisa volunteers at the mosque and is a peer mediator.  She enjoys swimming, listening to music and driving.

Nasreen Malek
Nasreen is seventeen years old and is a grade twelve student.  Nasreen plans to become a teacher in Sociology or Humanities and volunteers at the mosque and in the public school system in kindergarten classes.  She enjoys rollerblading and reading.

Hodan Mohamed
Hodan has her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History at the University of Toronto.  Hodan volunteers her time as a mentor, activist, speaker and teacher.  She enjoys photography, travel, basketball, volleyball and karate.
Khadija (Kathy) Mustapha-Ali
Khadija has a degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University and has worked at CFTO-TV, CTV and Vision TV nationally.  She has worked on number anti-violence, anti-racism shows and campaigns at Rogers Television and TVCogeco and currently has her own production company called:  Khadija Productions Inc.  Khadija specializes in interfaith, intercultural relations and the non-profit sector and has been a field producer on “Faith Journal” at CTS Television for over six seasons.  Khadija has three children and is the Project Co-ordinator for "Stand Up Speak Out".

Zahida Murtaza
Zahida is an FMW Board Member. She is an Elementary school teacher with the Toronto District School Board. She has a Masters degree in English Literature and a Bachelor’s degree from York University. She has served on the board of North York Women’s Centre for two years and has been working with MENTORS (Muslim Educators’ Network and Outreach Services) as a volunteer and a board member. Besides teaching full time, Zahida provides teacher training to Islamic Muslim teachers in Canada and abroad. She has written documents for Elementary Teachers Federation on Conflict Management Skills and Medieval Times Curriculum Unit for Toronto District School Board for students in Grade Four, highlighting the contributions of Muslims during the medieval period. Zahida is a mother of four children and a proud grandmother of three.

Alya Omar
Alya is the mother of three children and studied English Literature for two years at University.  Alya has her diploma in office administration and does freelance work from home.  Alya has assisted in organizing Eid parties for women and children and enjoys Internet surfing, web designing and creating cards, flyers and brochures.  Alya has three young children.

Fahmida Panju
Fahmida is a stay at home mom with three children.  She is very involved with the community and helps to organize and co-ordinate events.  She enjoys reading, baseball and badminton.

Halima Patel
Halima is the mother of two children and has been with FMW since 2001.  She is currently the Secretary of FMW.  Halima teaches Islamic studies to children.

Tasnim Patel

Tasnim is in grade 9 at The Woodlands Secondary School, in Mississauga. Her favorite subjects are English and Geography. In her spare time, Tasnim enjoys reading, writing poetry and spending time with her family. She is very sociable and enjoys helping people. Professionally, Tasnim hopes to study law. 

Rowena Nur Rahman
Rowena has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Labour Management, has a part-time HR Consulting business and is currently working for a business information services company as HR Manager. She is part of the Executive Council at the Noor Cultural Centre, and is an active supporter of Canadian, Filipino, and Bangladeshi causes. A strong advocate for interfaith dialogue and multiculturalism, Rowena has worked with several Christian organizations and is currently helping with the formation of a multi-faith children's choir in Toronto. Lastly, and primarily, she is a wife and mother of three children.

Kathleen St. Onge
Kathleen has her Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Honours Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics, a diploma in Education, as well as an ESL certificate.  Kathleen is also a CLBA assessor and a teacher of English, Math, Science, History, Geography, French and ESL.  Kathleen is a writer on interfaith issues and Islam in the West and currently does public speaking.

Yasmin Siddiqui
Yasmin graduated from Humber College with Honours in Early Childhood Education and is currently working as a preschool teacher.  Yasmin has worked on the promotions for the “Allah Made Me Funny” comedy tour in Canada and the USA.  Yasmin travels between Canada and the United States and will continue her association with The Federation of Muslim Women and the Stand Up Speak Out project.

Shazia Sohail

Shazia has two children.  She has her Masters in Child Psychology, Psychology, as well as a diploma in early Childhood Education.  Shazia used to work in Children Services as a Supervisor and counselor for Muslim women.  Currently, she is doing her post graduate certificate in Human Resources at Humber College. 

Amira Younis
Amira recently completed her Masters of Teaching Degree from the University of Toronto.  Her research focused on the contributions that visible minority teachers make in their schools.  Amira is qualified to teach primary junior grades.  She enjoys reading, traveling and cycling.

Hina Yousuf
Hina is studying business at the University of Toronto.  She is actively involved with the Muslim Student’s Association and has volunteered at the Malton Islamic Centre and Muslim Youth Conferences.

Kubra Yousuf
Kubra is the mother of three children.  Kubra has a Bachelors of Arts from Lahore College in Pakistan, as well as her Early Childhood Education from Humber College.  Kubra has worked as a program facilitator in the Ontario Early Years program and has been a teacher’s assistant with the Peel District School Board.  She has been the Chair and Member of the school council as well as a member of the Malton Festival Committee.

Ruby Zubair
Ruby is the mother of three teenage children.  Ruby has her Masters in Economics and Early Childhood Education from Sheridan College.  She has worked and volunteered for the Ministry of Correctional Services, The Red Cross, The Heart and Stroke Foundation, The Distress Centre of Peel, Victim Services of Peel and other organizations.