Afrah Qassim wins Merseyside Woman of the Year Humanitarian award

Posted on Fri 6 Jul 2012

We are happy to announce that Afrah Qassim has been awarded the Merseyside Woman of the Year Humanitarian award.  We have carried out work with her on a number of projects, including work on Forced Marriage in the Partnerships for Health project, and on a number of consultations for the Department of Health and Future Forum.  We would like to give our congratulations to Afrah, and to support her work with Savera.

Women in Business NW said:

"Through her work to help those affected by Forced Marriage and so-called ‘Honour Based Violence’, Afrah has made an outstanding contribution to protecting some of the most vulnerable and marginalised women in our local communities. As Community Development Worker with Liverpool Primary Care Trust, she has championed the needs of this group. She is described as truly exceptional with the ability “to break down barriers whether they are social, cultural or instituonal, in order to instigate positive change”.

Afrah achieved her post graduate certificate in Community Development work in 2008 from the University of Salford. She recently founded a charity called Savera (external website) dedicated to tackling abuse within black and minority ethnic communities, and raising awareness among professionals and practitioners of harmful practice such as Forced Marriage, Honour Based Violence and Female Genital Mutilation."