Alia Hogben, Order of Canada Award Recipient

Alia Hogben is the former Executive Director of CCMW and has been an infallible voice for equity, equality and empowerment of Canadian Muslim women and girls. The CCMW, says Alia, seeks to empower Canadian Muslim women [in Canadian society] and to promote an interpretation of Islam that is “humane, egalitarian, and equality-driven.”  In 2012, Alia became the second Canadian Muslim woman to be awarded the Order of Canada for her work and advocacy on women's rights. A year earlier, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario, on the recommendation of the Queen's School of Religion. 

In 2014, Maclean's Magazine ranked Alia among the 50 "Most Powerful List" of people in Canada. Alia, who has earlier worked with  Ontario’s ministry of community and social services, is one of the most compelling liberal voices of Islam in Canada. Her moderate Muslim perspective is indispensable and her commitment to equity, equality and empowerment of Canadian Muslim is unmatched.