Join us for the 2024 Women Who Inspire Awards on Sunday, October 20th, at 10:00 AM ET at Novotel Toronto North York. This annual event honours the achievements of Canadian Muslim women who have excelled in various fields such as sports, business, education, arts, community service, and leadership.

This year's theme, "Resistance and Resilience: Tipping the Scales of Justice," highlights the power of persistence and courage in the face of adversity. Since its inception in 2007, the Women Who Inspire Awards have recognized the contributions of Canadian Muslim women who have made a significant impact both in Canada and abroad. We honour those who embody the principles of racial and gender equality, while serving as role models of Muslim faith, culture, and leadership.

Don't miss this inspiring event, hosted by Zahra Grant, featuring a keynote speech by Dr. Wafaa Hasan. Join us as we come together to recognize the women who are shaping our communities and paving the way for future generations.

🗓️ Date: Sunday, October 20th, 2024

🕛 Time: 10am-3pm

📍 Location: Novotel Toronto North York, 3 Park Home Ave, Toronto, ON M2N 6L3

🎟️ Cost: $75/person ($85 after September 30th)

The recipients of this year’s Women Who Inspire awards:

  • Zena Chaudhry - CEO and Founder of Sakeenah Canada and Sakeenah US

  • Noor Fadel - Educator and Public Speaker

  • Samya Hasan - Executive Director of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA)

  • Marieme Lo - Director of the African Studies Centre and an Associate Professor in Women and Gender Studies and African Studies at the University of Toronto

  • Yusra Qadir - Chief Programs and Advocacy Officer at the Mothers Matter Canada

  • Akila Yahiaoui - Founder of Babookid and the Centre for Innovation and Digital Well-Being (CIBNQ)

To learn more about the winners, click here. 

Host: Zahra Grant

Zahra Grant is Black Muslim woman of Caribbean descent born and raised on the land of T'karanto (known as Toronto) which is territory is covered under Treaty #13 and the Williams Treaties, the land belonging and in care of many First Peoples, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples.  Zahra works professionally in governance but is an activist and community builder at heart, she believes in an Islam rooted in liberation and justice, especially as it pertains to women and currently serves on the National Board of Directors of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, an organization committed to justice and equality for Muslim women in Canada.

Keynote Speaker: Wafaa Hasan

Wafaa Hasan holds a Ph.D. in English and Cultural Studies and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto-St. George campus. She is an international lecturer and author who has taught in the Centre for Women and Gender Studies at Brock University, the Historical and Cultural Studies Department at the University of Toronto-Scarborough Campus and in the Gender Studies and Feminist Research Program at McMaster University. She has published on Palestinian childhood in Canadian literature; Islamophobia; anti-Palestinian racism; critical pedagogies; and global practices of resilience in displacement in Countering Displacements: The Creativity and Resilience of Indigenous and Refugee-ed Peoples (U of A Press, 2012). Her latest book chapter “Fragmented Bodies ‘Dancing on the Spot’: The Transnational Lives of Canadian Muslims and the Limits of Anti-Islamophobia Advocacy” was published in Systemic Islamophobia in Canada: A Research Agenda (2022) which was just named a Top 100 Book for 2023 in The Hill Times. 

Her research is primarily focused on decolonial feminist theory. Wafaa’s dissertation, “Orientalist Feminism: Eastward Pedagogies in Israeli-Palestinian Feminist Dialogues” was nominated for the national Governor General’s Academic Medal and the Canadian Association for Graduate Students’/University of Microfilms International’s CAGS/UMI Distinguished Dissertation Award. She is currently re-working this dissertation into a book about Palestinian women’s rights to refuse and set conditions for engagement with white and even ally feminists. She is deeply interested in formulations of anti-racist and decolonial transnational feminist solidarity practices in contexts of extractive solidarity practices.

She is also currently the principal investigator on a Toronto wide project studying the impacts of anti-Palestinian racism on Palestinian and Muslim high school students. Hasan is also a proud member of the Palestinian Feminist Collective which works on the ground to shut down colonial feminism while also visibilizing the active resistance of Palestinian women (and our men, families and otherwise kin) throughout history. She has two forthcoming journal articles on ethical Palestinian research methodologies as well as the failures of Culturally responsive pedagogies when it comes to Palestinian students.  

Wafaa is a proud Palestinian, from Tul Karem, a site of incredible recent violence. She arrived in Canada as a Humanitarian Refugee following the Gulf War and the ensuing mass displacement of Palestinians from Kuwait. Having been raised by a single mother in a government housing complex in Toronto, Wafaa is deeply interested in the close conceptual relationships between misogyny, patriarchy, white feminism and resultant articulations of various social services, such as affordable housing, women’s shelters, anti-racist GBV initiatives, public healthcare and an equitable education system.As such, she is proud of her previous appointment as equity officer for CUPE 3906 working diligently on homophobia, Islamophobia, and class based oppression on the McMaster University campus.

About the Women Who Inspire Awards

CCMW hosts an annual event, “Women Who Inspire Awards,” which brings together Canadian Muslim women of diverse backgrounds to celebrate those who have achieved excellence in sports, business, education, arts, community service and leadership.  This initiative was launched in 2007 to recognize Canadian Muslim women who have made a difference in the lives of other people in Canada and/or abroad. 

The awards recognize accomplishments of Canadian Muslim women and girls and their contributions to racial and gender equality.  ‘Women Who Inspire’  is a platform to celebrate women who have excelled and who serve as role models of Muslim faith, culture and leadership on issues affecting Canadian Muslim communities.