Honour for Cantabrian trying to ‘light candles instead of curse the darkness’

Dr Hafsa Ahmed is trying to light candles instead of curse the darkness, by supporting and empowering ethnic women in Aotearoa.

The co-founder of Lady Khadija Charitable Trust has been named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours for services to ethnic communities and women.

Since the terrorist attack on March 15, 2019, Ahmed has been working to support the Muslim community, alongside projects to help Kiwis understand bias and belonging.

“Yesterday reading, I came across a Chinese proverb, ‘It is better to light a single candle than curse the darkness’.

READ MORE:
* Anila Sajja shares a glorious family photo from her Diwali celebration
* Immigrants share stories of ‘uprooting and planting’ themselves in Aotearoa
* Prince Charles calls Christchurch mosque victim ‘a shining example to all of us’

“That is so true. I guess I am trying to light a candle when there is so much darkness.”

Overcoming so much in recent times within the Muslim community was “possibly why this honour means so much” to the Lincoln University lecturer.

She has created projects like Immigrant Journeys, launched in 2021. It is an idea that came out of a conversation Ahmed and her husband Razi Syed had with friends following the Christchurch mosque attacks, to give a glimpse into immigrants’ lives.

It inspired another project she worked on with Asia Media Centre called Unquiet women, featuring stories about 10 remarkable women making their lives in Aotearoa.

She could not achieved any of it without the support of her husband and children, she said.

Recent hate crimes showed that there was “still a lot that we need to unpick and address”.

“Each of us has to do our little bit…we light a bit of a spark.”