Academics for Reproductive Justice Ireland event: In Conversation with... Dr. Sahar Ahmed and Rimsha Syed

At this In Conversation with... event, Dr Sahar Ahmed and Rimsha Syed will discuss their experiences living, working, and being activists in reproductive justice spaces. With perspectives that range from the Pakistani, Texan and Irish lived experience, they will speak to their work challenging systemic barriers around reproductive healthcare and advocating for reproductive freedom for people of colour.  Topics discussed will include the migrant lived experience, methodological praxis in the reproductive justice sphere and intersections of activism, legal work and abortion care.

Dr. Sahar Ahmed is an Assistant Lecturer in Law at the School of Social Sciences, Law and Education at TU Dublin. She has a particular interest in the intersection of law, religion, and human rights. Her PhD thesis, completed at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Law, examines and offers a reinterpretation of the right to freedom of religion under International Human Rights Law and Islamic jurisprudence. Sahar was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2011 and is a barrister member of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn. She also practiced as a commercial and corporate barrister in Lahore, appearing before the courts as an Advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan. Sahar is currently Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Charity and actively involved in scholarship and activist-adjacent spaces on issues of race and racism in academia and the wider community.

Rimsha Syed is a Pakistani-Texan reproductive justice advocate, journalist, and graphic designer. She earned her BA in Journalism and Women and Gender Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She has worked with Fund Texas Choice and Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health, hosting their popular podcast. Rimsha has also worked with the Asian American and Pacific Islander Labor Alliance and has been an oral historian with the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life. Recommended reading: Tracing herbal abortion ancestry in Iran and Pakistan.