Friends of Afghan Women Judges
We are retired judges, lawyers, and members of law firms and legal organizations. We are dedicated to promoting and supporting the well-being and prospects of Afghan women judges and their families as they struggle to create new lives for themselves in Ontario. We are the sponsor of this site.
We are working through the Afghan Women’s Organization to process donations and to ensure that disbursements are consistent with the charitable vision, mission and values of AWO.
Please read on to see how we came to exist and what we aim to do.
Afghan Women Judges to Canada
In August 2021, the Taliban recovered control of Afghanistan. In the two preceding decades, approximately 270 women had become judges, presiding in many levels of courts. Once the Taliban regained power, these judges, as women professionals upholding the rule of law, were in mortal danger.
The International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) was instrumental in evacuating approximately 200 women judges. Once out of Afghanistan, the women and their families lived for months in transit countries, waiting for visas to countries where they could safely resettle. Canada agreed to accept 40 of the Afghan women judges as Government Assisted Refugees. Most arrived in 2022 and 2023.
Canadian members of IAWJ were involved in the evacuation efforts. Later, they set up direct relationships with the women in the group to be sponsored by Canada. They monitored the well-being of the families as they sheltered in the transit countries, and prepared for their arrival.
Upon arrival in Canada, each Afghan judge was partnered with two or more Canadian women judges at all levels of court. The Canadian judges provided friendship, mentoring, and practical help as the newcomers started their lives in Canada. Judges across Canada also contributed financially to this resettlement effort.
There are now 38 Afghan women judges and their families in Canada, 25 of them in Ontario. All of the Ontario families have timed out of the Government Assisted Refugee program, which paid their expenses and provided orientation assistance for one year.
The families are now expected to pay for their own housing, food and clothing, and all other costs. Navigating Canada’s employment, education and family support systems has also become their responsibility.
The Friends of Afghan Women Judges in Ontario (FAWJO) came together to ease the families’ transition to independence and to support the Afghan women judges’ efforts to use their legal education, skills and experience to thrive in a legal, law related, or other career. Since active judges in Canada don’t engage in advocacy of this sort and cannot raise funds (other than from family or other judges), retired judges form the core of the Friends along with lawyers, law firms and other legal organizations.
Ontario Afghan Women Judges
Most of the families arrived in Ontario between May 25, 2022 and December 31, 2022. Three families arrived in early 2023. The 25th Afghan family arrived in May, 2024. Five of the families live in Mississauga and one family lives in each of Kitchener, Guelph, Hamilton, Oshawa, Ajax, and Sudbury. Two families live in Ottawa. The remaining 12 families live in Toronto.
Sixteen of the judges are accompanied by their husbands and children while three are single parents. Two of the judges are accompanied by adult family members (parents or siblings). There are about 45 adults. Nineteen of the Afghan women judges have about 47 children, 6 of whom were born in Canada. Most of the children are under 14 years of age with five older children finishing high school or entering post-secondary education. On arrival, the age range of most of the Afghan women judges was 30 to 42.
The Afghan women judges are amongst the 5% of females in Afghanistan who had attained post-secondary education by 2021. They all have an undergraduate degree in Sharia law or Islamic law or Law and Politics. Two of them have a Masters degree. Most of them attended the 2 year judicial training program and they presided as judges in Afghanistan in a range of 4 to 12 years.
All of the husbands have undergraduate degrees and several have Masters degrees. In Afghanistan, they had careers including judge, prosecutor or defence lawyer, engineer, and electrician.
On arrival, few of the newcomers had sufficient English language proficiency to work or attend post-secondary educational programs. Most of them accessed the literacy program [LINC] available through the federal government. While committed to improving their English skills as quickly as possible, they rose to meet the many challenges of the new environment including access to child care.
They were all welcomed to Canada as Government Assisted Refugees and as a result, they became Permanent Residents on arrival. They were all entitled to financial support from the federal government for 12 months along with settlement services to assist in obtaining access to housing, education for the children and health care.
All of the Afghan Women Judges women judges and their families have exhausted the financial support provided by the federal government. They are grappling with decisions about trying to obtain employment at minimum wage jobs or in the gig economy, about deciding whether the Afghan women judges will prioritize language and other educational options while the husbands find employment, and about defaulting to OSAP or Ontario Works because no other options are available. Most of them are challenged by housing, including crowded conditions and high rent. Some are reliant on food banks.
All of the Afghan women judges express anxiety for the family members they were forced to leave behind as the situation in Afghanistan for girls and women continues to deteriorate.
As judges, these Afghan women made an enormous contribution to the re-establishment of civil society and to the introduction of the rule of law in some areas of Afghanistan. As a result, their lives and the lives of their families were endangered. Canada has provided a welcome refuge but they face many challenges.
Most of these well-educated legal trail blazers are committed to achieving English language proficiency that will permit them to embark on further training and education that will increase the likelihood of securing satisfying and fulfilling employment. They need tuition and related expenses to access post-secondary education in colleges and universities so that they can pursue a legal career or related professional career such as a paralegal or law clerk, or investigate alternate careers. They need financial assistance that will allow them to focus on education and training. They need mentoring opportunities such as shadowing or paid internships to help them respond to the challenge of having “Canadian experience” that is a barrier to obtaining employment consistent with their education and skills.
They have accomplished a great deal in the almost 3 years since they began to arrive. The next 3 years will be critical to building upon their successes. With your help, they will be able to provide for their families, demonstrate their gratitude for the haven from persecution afforded by Canada, and contribute to Canadian civil society.
Our Mission
This image originally appeared in The Advocates’ Society’s publication The Advocates’ Journal, Vol. 42, No. 3; Winter 2023. It is reproduced with the permission of the artist (©RyanJosephLittle 2023). The image may not be shared or reproduced without permission.
Our mission is to recognize their crucial role in promoting the rule of law and to reinforce the sense of dignity and hope of the Afghan women judges in Ontario by seeking and facilitating financial support, mentoring, and career opportunities for them.
Our Logo
Our distinctive logo represents the history and experiences of the Afghan Women Judges. Each quadrant depicts an aspect of their experiences: (from the top)
- lines abstracting their movement, travel, and change;
- the scales of justice;
- hands reaching, representing the individuals and their connection to their new home and their connections with their Canadian counterparts; and,
- geometric tile-work, inspired by traditional Afghan design patterns, symbolizing the strength, resilience, and enduring cultural identity the judges carry with them into their new lives.
Special thanks to the artist Alex Perlin @alexperlin.com
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