March 8, 2018: International Women’s Day was organized by the American Association of University Women and Rochester Global Connections, among other organizations, with a focus on immigration and its impact. I presented as an immigrant from Pakistan along with Princesse Nabintu-Kabaya (a refugee from the Congo) and Caridad Sosa-Blackwell (who is originally from Cuba). Each speaker conducted 3 sessions, with a rotating audience. Rather than give the same spiel every single time, I decided to present on different topics. In the first session we unpacked Islamophobia and got to meet Edward Said and his work, in the second session we listened to my Ted talk and discussed colonialism, borders and nationalism, and finally in the thrid session we demystified the hijab. I showed videos in each class and left plenty of time for Q&A. This was the most diverse (and spiffily dressed) audience I’ve ever presented to in Rochester. Loved getting to know many of the women and look forward to keeping in touch.
