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Exploring Equity Speaker Series

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Poster for the event described in this post.

Join the Rotary Club of Abbotsford Sumas and UFV’s Community Health and Social Innovation Hub for conversations around advancing equity in our community. Entry is by donation, in support of the UFV-SUS Food Bank. Event speakers and dates are as follows: September 30, 2023: Dr. Keith Carlson November 2:,2023 Dr. Darryl Plecas November 30, 2023: … Read more

CHASIcast: Fatema D. Ahmadi on women’s rights in Afghanistan

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Photo of a laptop Fatema D. Ahmadi on a Zoom video call, taken from over the shoulder of Chelsea Klassen, who is looking at the laptop. A quote reads: "“You cannot just come and cut us and say, ‘okay, these people — with their idea of human rights, with the idea of democracy — we cut them, now there is nothing, so they are removed, so we can just do whatever we want’ ... We have a root there. We have strong roots that just start flourishing one day. And these are the everyday efforts of different people, different groups. I think it’s watering those roots ‘til just one day they come up and they show resistance.” — Fatema D. Ahmadi, Fellow and Adjunct Professor at American University, School of Public Affairs"

As part of CHASI’s ongoing series on the current realities of life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, we are honoured to welcome Fatema D. Ahmadi to the CHASIcast. Ahmadi is a Fellow and Adjunct Professor at American University, School of Public Affairs in Washington, DC, and is dedicated to advocating for human rights, particularly women’s … Read more

UFV Walk-out in support of Afghan women

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Group photo of several dozen people, many holding signs in support of the women of Afghanistan. They are lined up to pose for a photo.

To mark two years since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, CHASI and members of the Afghan community staged a university walk-out. The focus was on supporting Afghan women, who have been banned from attending high school since September 2021 and university since December 2022. Afghan activist Sahar Maqsoodi joined the event, sharing the realities of … Read more

Examining two years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan

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Two Years of Taliban Rule in Afghanistan In the month of August CHASI will be highlighting the current impact of the Taliban regime on people living in Afghanistan, with a focus on the ongoing resistance and resilience shown by the Afghan people.

Throughout August 2023 and beyond, CHASI highlighted the current situation in Afghanistan. August 8, 2023 August 10, 2023: Announcing a UFV walk-out in support of the women of Afghanistan Afghan women have been banned from attending high school since September 2021 and university since December 2022. This event will demonstrate UFV’s support for women during … Read more

Tea Dance and Queeraoke brings Pride to UFV

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Photo of a group of people crowded onto an ourdoor stage, singing karaoke. Some hold rainbow flags or are wearing rainbow garlands

To end Pride month the right way, CHASI and friends hosted a Tea Dance and Queeraoke event on June 28. The event also served as a purposeful conclusion to our flag display and a next step towards a permanent Pride installation on campus. CHASI would like to extend a massive thank you to our co-organizers … Read more

CHASIcast: CHASI RAs on the destruction of flags and the meaning of Pride

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Four women sit in the CIVL Radio studio with headhphones on and microphones in front of them. A quote from Miranda Erickson reads: “Looking back at all of the incidences where people have stepped on or spit on, or broken, or thrown out the flags... it’s upsetting because they were just existing and it feels very symbolic of the community as a whole. Like we’re not asking for allyship, we’re not asking for money, we’re not asking for resources. We’re just existing. And just the fact that we’re existing is enough to incite hatred and aggressive ... they feel threatened by it because apparently just existing is not enough. They need to not see us. They need us to not be here.”

On this special Pride episode of the CHASIcast, we welcome four of the amazing students who work at CHASI: Lynsie Beaulieu, Ekat Marenkov, and Miranda Erickson, all research assistants, and Frankie Fowle, a graphic design intern. After several months seeing targeted hate first hand with the repeated vandalism and theft of CHASI’s Pride flags display … Read more

Pride 2023 at CHASI

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Photo of CHASI team members speaking at a table with a rainbow tablecloth.

Pride is always time of celebration and action at CHASI, and 2023 was no different! Here is just some what our team did to mark the occasion. Dr. Martha Dow joins GW Graham Secondary’s Pride Celebration CHASI director Dr. Martha Dow was privileged to be able to speak at GW Graham Secondary’s Pride celebration to … Read more