The theme of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge. 

“We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality, to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements, and help create an inclusive world,” we are told. 

On this occasion, we invite you to listen to Hani Abdile in conversation with Hava Rezaie, both remarkable women who have spent their lives challenging injustice. 

Hava Rezaie is a Hazara community leader, women’s rights advocate, and Advisory Committee Member of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia’s Finding Safety project. 

Hava is a mentor to many migrant and refugee women in vulnerable situations across Sydney, and collaborates with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Sydney Alliance, SSI and other civil society organisations for systemic reforms to refugee and domestic/family violence policy. 

Hani Abdile is an accomplished spoken-word poet, journalist-in-training, and a Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) Ambassador. This is the first of a number of conversations Hani is holding with community leaders in 2021.

In this conversation, Hani and Hava discuss: 

• Hava’s vocation as a women’s rights advocate in Afghanistan and Australia 
• The impacts of COVID-19 on women experiencing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Australia
• The challenges that women on temporary visas experiencing violence face. 
• The vital support that organisations such as Jesuit Refugee Service and the Refugee Advice and Casework (RACS) provide
• Hava’s dreams and aims for the future. 

Watch the video below:

To learn more about Jesuit Refugee Service’s (JRS) Women’s Space and the work it does with women on temporary visas in New South Wales, click here. 

Production credit: RACS