Amira Elghawaby
Amira Elghawaby is a Canadian journalist, communications professional, and human rights activist. She was appointed as Canada's first special representative on combatting Islamophobia in January 2023.
Early life and education
Elghawaby was born to Egyptian parents; her father was an engineer.[1]
She emigrated to Canada at the age of two months with her mother, and also spent four of her early years in Bandung, Indonesia.[1]
Elghawaby has a degree in journalism and law from Carleton University.[2][3]
Career
Elghawaby is a human rights activist and a journalist.[2] She is employed as a communications lead by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation,[2] and is a freelance journalist who contributes columns to the The Toronto Star.[2] She previously worked at CBC News, the Canadian labour movement,[2] and as a human rights co-ordinator[4] for the National Council of Canadian Muslims.[5][6] She was one of the founding board members of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network[7] and is a member of Canada's National Security Transparency Advisory Group.[8]
On January 26, 2023,[7] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Elghawaby as Canada's first special representative on combatting Islamophobia, for a four-year term.[2] Her office has a budget of $5.6 million to cover the first five years of activities.[2]
The National Council of Canadian Muslims described her appointment as a "historic moment for Muslims in Canada”.[7] Days after her appointment Quebec Premier François Legault called for her resignation,[9] after La Presse reported that Elghawaby had written that Quebeckers seem “influenced by anti-Muslim sentiment,” in a 2019 column in the Ottawa Citizen and other publications, most notably a tweet of May 2021, when she wrote « I will puke » on Twitter in reaction to a opinion article by philosophy teacher of Joseph Heath University of Toronto, who argued that French Canadians were the larger group in Canada to have suffer from British colonialism [10] .
Trudeau said he expected her comments to be clarified.[11][12] A parliamentary motion in the National Assembly of Quebec denouncing her appointment was supported by the Coalition Avenir Québec, Quebec Liberal Party and the Parti Québécois.[13]
On the 5th of February 2023, a group of more than 200 persons, such as Nadia El-Mabrouk, president of the "People for laicity", and activist Ensaf Haidar, wife Raif Badawi asked for Elghawaby's resignation and the abolition of her function, and also wrote that they "refuse to be associated to a muslim community represented by people who promote an integrist vision of Islam". [14]
Personal life
Elghawaby lives in Ottawa.[15] She is married with three children.[1] She is Muslim.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Muslim In Canada - Amira Elghawaby". Muslim In Canada. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g Zimonjic, Peter (26 Jan 2023). "Trudeau announces Amira Elghawaby as Canada's first representative to combat Islamophobia". CBC.
- ^ "Amira Elghawaby". Prime Minister of Canada. 2023-01-25. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ Rakobowchuk, By Peter (2015-03-13). "Woman in hijab controversy rejects $52,000 crowdfunding cash". CTV News. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ "The People Do Good Stuff Issue: Amira Elghawaby". This Magazine. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ "Ottawa police alert Muslim women after reports of verbal abuse". CBC. 16 Oct 2016.
- ^ a b c "Canada appoints first representative to fight Islamophobia". www.aljazeera.com. 26 Jan 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ Patel, Raisa (2023-01-26). "Canada names first special representative to combat Islamophobia". thestar.com. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ "CAQ government wants federal anti-Islamophobia adviser removed over Bill 21 comments". montrealgazette. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ 200 personnes réclament l’abolition du poste d’Amira Elghawaby
- ^ Bailey, Ian (2023-01-27). "Politics Briefing: Trudeau wants Amira Elghawaby to clarify remarks about Quebeckers". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ "Trudeau nomme une militante qui a dépeint les Québécois comme « antimusulmans »". La Presse (in French). 2023-01-26. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ "Quebec MNAs call for dismissal of anti-Islamophobia advisor". Montreal. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ Plus de 200 personnes exigent le départ d’Amira Elghawaby et l’abolition de son poste
- ^ Lau, Rachel (20 Dec 2017). "'He's a Canadian hero': Muslim community raises money for paralyzed mosque shooting victim | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2023-01-27.