Afghan Diaspora in Toronto: Advocacy, Feminism, and the Fight for Freedom
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): A Further Inquiry
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/23
The Fahim Dashi Foundation, established in memory of the late Afghan journalist and National Resistance Front spokesperson Fahim Dashty, is a Toronto-based non-profit organization dedicated to supporting press freedom and civil society initiatives. Marwa Dashti highlights Canada’s role and potential in advocating for Afghan rights, urging deeper commitments aligned with its feminist foreign policy. She draws a distinction between reform-driven feminism in the West and resistance-based feminism in Afghanistan. Dashti emphasizes the shared responsibility of men and the global community in challenging the regime. She underscores the urgency of storytelling, the role of historians, and the stark contrast between life in Toronto and life under authoritarian rule.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: From a Canadian, particularly Torontonian, perspective, the Afghan diaspora is significant. Since August 2021, Canada has resettled over 55,000 Afghans through programs for government-affiliated individuals and vulnerable populations. Toronto has the country’s largest Afghan community, with more than 54,000 Afghan Canadians in Ontario as of the 2016 Census. Afghan Women’s Organization and the Afghan Association of Ontario offer key settlement services. Groups like Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan focus on education and human rights. What do you think of this?
Marwa Dashti: The Afghan community in Canada has been very active, and I’m grateful for that. I also recognize that the Canadian government has been supportive—they’ve accepted many refugees and provided platforms for us to advocate for our country.
But there is still more that can be done. As a country that champions a feminist foreign policy, Canada has the capacity—and I believe the responsibility—to do more. Whether it is through sustained diplomatic pressure, increased humanitarian aid, or stronger support for Afghan-led civil society efforts in exile, there is room to grow.
Jacobsen: When you see Afghan women fighting for their rights—whether in exile, in-country, or regionally, such as through the United Nations—how would you compare and contrast that with how women in Canada fight for their rights? In other words, how should people calibrate the level of urgency and fire in their belly that they bring to activism?
Dashti: I’ve said this before, but I will say it again—because it is important.
In Western countries, feminism is primarily about gaining rights within the state’s framework. It is about reforming laws, policies, and institutions that already exist. But in Afghanistan, feminism is about challenging the regime’s existence. It is not reform—it is resistance.
That is an entirely different kind of fight. It comes with unimaginable risks—threats, imprisonment, torture, and even death. And yet, Afghan women are still doing it. They are showing a level of courage that is inspiring and, quite honestly, unprecedented in many parts of the world.
So, when people in countries like Canada fight for their rights, I think it’s essential to maintain perspective. That does not mean their causes are invalid—rather, we must recognize that some people are fighting under open authoritarianism, without legal protections, and with everything at stake.
Jacobsen: Where do you think Canadians believe they have achieved gender parity but have not? And where do they believe they do not have parity, but they actually do? In other words, how do you view miscalibrations in the public understanding of gender equality—where people might be misreading the situation?
Dashti: Honestly, I am not the right person to answer that.
I have not lived in Canada long enough to analyze those aspects properly. Even during my time here, I’ve been deeply focused on countries like Afghanistan and Iran because the urgency is so great.
Unfortunately, I do not feel qualified to assess gender parity trends in Canada in that level of detail.
Jacobsen: What is the role of men in fighting against the regime that has taken over Afghanistan? This is not just a women’s war. It affects everyone. So what is the responsibility and role of Afghan men—and men more broadly?
Dashti: You are absolutely right. This is not just a women’s fight.
Yes, women face a uniquely severe form of oppression in Afghanistan, which is why the world’s attention rightly focuses on them. But men have also been stripped of their rights. Many men are also living in fear, under threat, and suffering.
Let’s be honest: when it comes to the international community, the majority of decision-makers and policymakers are still men.
That means men must also be part of the solution. Whether in positions of power abroad or as allies and advocates within Afghan communities, men must speak up, stand with women, and resist the regime. Change will not happen unless everyone is involved.
So yes, if most of the decision-makers are men, then, of course, their role is going to be very important in shaping the future of Afghanistan. Men must be part of this conversation—not just in Afghanistan, but globally—especially when they are the ones in positions of institutional and political power.
Jacobsen: What organizations or associations have been important in the fight for equality in Afghanistan?
Dashti: Thankfully, many organizations are doing critical work in Afghanistan to support human rights and women’s rights.
One of the most impactful has been Vital Voices. They’ve helped evacuate many at-risk individuals from Afghanistan, including journalists and women leaders.
Several smaller, local organizations are also doing their best under impossible conditions. The Dashti Foundation has consistently worked with the Global Foundation, which has supported us across multiple events and projects.
We also have organizations like Reporters Without Borders, which continue to advocate for press freedom. So, on both ends—internationally and locally—there are groups stepping up to help in any way they can.
Jacobsen: Do you think enough stories are being told about Afghanistan right now?
Dashti: No—not at all.
The cruel reality is that Afghan people do not have a platform to raise their concerns. The international spotlight has moved on. It shifted too quickly to other territories, so we have lost much of the global attention we desperately need.
We do not even have the space to speak about these issues—let alone to choose how we want those stories to be told, in our voices, with our cultural nuances and lived experiences.
Jacobsen: Who else, besides journalists, can help tell these stories? I mean those who can help characterize Afghanistan’s emotional and cultural texture—not just factual reports or survival narratives, but something that captures the colours, sounds, and feelings of living under Taliban rule.
Dashti: Historians will play a major role in the storytelling of this era.
Because the fight in Afghanistan right now is not just about surviving oppression—it is about ensuring that history remembers. It is about making sure the world knows that there were people—women, journalists, students, educators—who resisted.
Some stood up for justice, even when it was taken from them.
Jacobsen: What stands out most about Torontonian life, contrasting your experiences in Pakistan, Albania, or Kabul?
Dashti: Oh—I would say the biggest difference is the Freedom.
Here in Toronto, you feel a sense of stability. You can walk outside without fear, speak your mind, organize, study, and plan a future.
That sense of normalcy, of just being able to live, is something I will never take for granted. Because I know what it feels like to live without it.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Marwa.
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