FEBRUARY UPDATES:
Welcome to our first newsletter of 2021! We wish you all a Happy New Year! May all your projects and aspirations come to fruition this year. We trust that 2021 will be in rhythm with your wishes to be safe, listened to, and included. The Afghan Women Centre begins this year by doing what we do best: serving our members. Stay tuned as we update you on our projects.
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We're back ! The holidays might be over, but our members and teachers were happy to see each other. As you can see from these two pictures, our members are all smiles as our classes are always given in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Even if Clinton is back home in Florida, he’s always present for our participants, just as was Eunmi Choi, our substitute ESL teacher who tuned in from Calgary. We’re grateful to count on everyone regardless of geographic locations!
Virtual event with Minister Monsef On the 11th of February, we had the pleasure of participating to a panel discussion with the Honourable Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Maryam Monsef in order to find ways to better support those in greatest need and to ensure the pandemic recovery is more inclusive of underrepresented women. Our president Makai Aref, had the pleasure of exchanging with the Minister about the centre's activities, here is the a clip of their chat ! On February 11, we had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion with the Honourable Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Maryam Monsef. The objective was to find ways to better support those in the greatest need and to ensure the pandemic recovery is more inclusive of underrepresented women. Our president Makai Aref, had the pleasure of exchanging with the Minister about the centre's activities. Here’s a clip of their chat!
International Women's Day The Afghan Women Centre invites you on March 8 to a virtual celebration of strong and empowered women everywhere who negotiate for their rights despite Covid19! As a community organization, we acknowledge the hardship women face during this pandemic and celebrate their diligence. This event will welcome diverse members of our centre and guest speakers to share their empowering moments and showcase the creativity of our community with Afghan music and poetry among other exciting events. Click on the link below to follow our event on Facebook #wechoosetochallenge
Meet our Concordia University interns We’re so happy to have been contacted by these four talented students in Community Development from Concordia University to join our centre’s activities and future projects! Netsai, Monica, Samantha, and Solène will help us with special projects for a few months.Here’s a picture of our group effort to bring you a special online event on March 8, International Women’s Day!
The Shadow Pandemic
On February 20, the AWCM participated with the Iranian and Afghan Women’s Network in an online event co-sponsored by the Women's Intercultural Event, Stop Honor Killings-Iran, with the Men Against Honor-related Violence Network and The Alliance of Middle Eastern and North African Socialists. This event brought to light the violence against women during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Violence that is now called the ‘shadow pandemic’ is present within homes. In-home violence has significantly increased since Covid-19 began.
For more information on family or in-home violence, click on the link below :
Empowerment through Knowledge In mid-February, we had the pleasure of receiving the notary Nazgol Fallah. She provided a detailed and useful presentation in Farsi about the testamentary process in Quebec. We're often afraid of the word testament, but our members claimed the future and learned the steps. Awareness of procedures results in the best decisions for ourselves and our families.
Montreal Health Updates
The Relaxation of the COVID-19 confinement measures in Quebec began in the first week of February. Even if Montreal stays in the red zone, new public health measures will apply. Outdoor activities are now allowed for a group of up to 8 people. All non‑priority businesses and museums have re‑opened (including personal care services), and a partial return to in‑person teaching gradually took place. Just in time for Spring break, cinemas will reopen starting February 26. Swimming pools and arenas will partially reopen for family bubbles and individual activities, but not for collective activities.
The curfew will remain between 8 p.m and 5 a.m for the red zone. For more updates, visit the government website by clicking on the link below :
Covid-19 Vaccine On Feb 23, Quebec's Prime Minister, François Legault, announced new directives and information about the vaccine soon to be administered to priority groups. The vaccination is recommended as a priority for people with a higher risk of complications of COVID‑19, in particular people 70 years of age and older who live in residential and long-term care centres (CHSLDs) as well as healthcare workers. This process extends to people over 85 years of age in the Greater Montreal region. In addition, an accompanying person aged 85 and over could be vaccinated at the same time if the person meets the following criteria: the person is 70 years of age or older and is present 3 or more days a week to support their relative over 85. Starting Thursday the 25th of february at 8am, registration will be made online or by phone (1 877 644 4545). To get more information on the vaccination campaign in Quebec, or to make your registration to get your vaccine, follow the link below :
Be Part of the Mission The AWC is looking for passionate and dedicated volunteers to join our team and help us with our mission. While unpaid, letters of recommendation and honorariums are given based on performance. By volunteering, you contribute your professional skills. In turn, you’ll get first-hand experience about how non-profit organizations are managed. You’ll learn by doing. Click here to find out more :