Join us on the 4th Thursday of each month from 5-6pm for the IWFC Calgary Chapter EDI Book Club.
The next selection for IWFC Calgary's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Book Club will be Outspoken by Sima Samar and will be hosted by Jennifer Hatfield.
The impassioned memoir of Afghanistan's Sima Samar: medical doctor, public official, founder of schools and hospitals, thorn in the side of the Taliban, nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, and lifelong advocate for girls and women.
"I have three strikes against me. I'm a woman, I speak out for women, and I'm Hazara, the most persecuted ethnic group in Afghanistan."
Dr. Sima Samar has been fighting for equality and justice for most of her life. Born into a polygamous family, she learned early that girls had inferior status, and she had to agree to an arranged marriage if she wanted to go to university. By the time she was in medical school, she had a son, Ali, and had become a revolutionary. After her husband was disappeared by the pro-Russian regime, she escaped. With her son and medical degree, she took off into the rural areas—by horseback, by donkey, even on foot—to treat people who had never had medical help before.
Sima Samar's wide-ranging experiences both in her home country and on the world stage have given her inside access to the dishonesty, the collusion, the corruption, the self-serving leaders, and the hijacking of religion. And as a former Vice President, she knows all the players in this chess game called Afghanistan. With stories that are at times poignant, at times terrifying, inspiring as well as disheartening, Sima provides an unparalleled view of Afghanistan's past and its present.
Despite being in grave personal danger for many years, she has worked tirelessly for the dream she is convinced is an achievable one: justice and full human rights for all the citizens of her country.
Please RSVP to confirm your attendance.
April 25, 2024 - 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85009782945
You may purchase a hard or digital copy here or support your local bookstore or public library.
Meetings:
- October 26 Permanent Astonishment: Growing Up Cree in the Land of Snow and Sky by Tomson Highway (host Bev Foy)
- November 23 The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkelby Kati Marton.(host Bev Foy)
- January 25 Everybody Matters by Mary Robinson(host Jennifer Hatfield)
- February 22 Saltus by Tara Gereaux (host Karen Prentice)
- March 28 My Name is Not Harryby Haroon Siddiqui (host Michele Stanners)
- April 25 Outspoken (host Jennifer Hatfield)
- May 23 Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment by Frances Fukuyama (host Bev Foy)
- June 27 TBD (host TBD)
