On March 8 at the Houston Seniors Centre, the eighth annual Houston International Women’s Day Event is being held. with guest speakers, Maryam and Nivaal Rehman.The girls are 17-year-old twins living in Canada, who have been activists ever since they were eight years old. They have worked in their local and global community for causes such as girls’ education in Pakistan and around the world, along with running several clubs in their school including Students Together Against Racism, Model United Nations, Youth In Action and Environmental Club to name a few. Their leadership experience has included the various conferences they have organized including the International Women’s Day conference they held through the Girl Up club (a UN initiative) that they launched at their school, the Durham Secondary School Symposium Conference and the Girl Up Toronto Summit.
In 2016, they began their YouTube channel called “The World With MNR” to inspire others to change the world. Through their channel, they covered many events including the 2-day Social Good Summit by Mashable and the United Nations in New York City, WE Day Toronto and events with the Blue Dot movement.
Their activism has led them to receiving the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award (now the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers) along with the Being ME Rising Muslimah award and the Canada 150 Youth Champion award by MP Celina. Furthermore, they have been featured in the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, India Today, Whitby This Week and the Durham Chronicle newspapers among others because of their efforts to make a difference.
They have also had the opportunity to interview PM Trudeau and Malala Yousufzai when Malala was in Canada this year, as part of her Girl Power Trip. They are continuing their activism through volunteering, traveling and sharing their experiences to inspire others through their social media and their YouTube channel, The World With MNR.
Currently, they are filmmakers for Disney’s Dream Big Princess Project, alongside 21 other incredible young girls from around the world – three of which are also contributors for this website! Finally, they lead the Girl Up Canada Coalition and bring clubs from around Canada together to host initiatives and events for the Girl Up Campaign.
It’s a free event and open to the community. For more information contact Debi Smith at 250-845-9192. See their ad on page 11 for more details.
