A bridge for immigrant women
Teacher founded Afghan Women's Organization
Be realistic, take pride in old and new, she advises
by Paul Irish Toronto Star Staff Report
Adeena Niazi says her message to new immigrants is simple and honest: your
future is in your own hands.
The founder of the Afghan Women's Organization, a Toronto-based support body
for newcomers to Canada, tells families to be prepared to work hard and set
realistic expectations.
PAUL IRISH/TORONTO STAR
Adeena Niazi helps women from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
settle in Canada. She warns them of the challenges they face, then helps
them deal with them.
"Many people hear about places like Canada and they think all their problems
will be solved once they land,'' she said. "But that doesn't always happen;
sometimes problems start.''
She says there are plenty of tough issues for newcomers to overcome, such as
language barriers, lack of suitable employment and cultural differences.
That's one of the reasons Niazi, 50, started the Afghan Women's Organization,
which has also been helping individuals from Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
since 1990.
Niazi was a teacher at Kabul University in her native Afghanistan, but she was
in India on a scholarship, when Soviet troops intervened in the country in
1978.
Unable to return home for fear of being imprisoned, she stayed in India and
then arrived in Canada in 1988 as a government-sponsored refugee.
"I would have been put in jail for my (political) beliefs,'' she said.
"I missed my life in Afghanistan, but there was nothing I could do.''
On arriving in Canada, Niazi found work as a settlement counsellor for
government-sponsored refugees. It was there that she realized the needs of
Afghan women were not being met.
So she founded the Afghan Women's Organization and has never looked back.
The organization sees up to 2,000 clients every year, she says. It helps women
and their families understand the new educational system, individual rights in
society and Canadian culture.
Many families experience tension when teenagers are immersed in a "new world"
at school while parents and grandparents still cling to the old ways, she
says.
In other cases, some new arrivals fall into the trap of being overly proud of
their heritage, and not as receptive to the new culture as they should be.
"We hope newcomers will find something balanced,'' she said.
"Ideally, they should take pride in both the old and new.''
Niazi has served on the boards of the Refugees Law Office, Women in Transition
and the Council for Refugees and continues to advocate for refugee and human
rights.
Currently, she sits on the boards of the Canadian Council for Victims of
Torture, Partnership Afghanistan (Canadian), the Advisory of Women's Rights in
Afghanistan Project, and the Canadian Coalition in Support of Afghan Women.
