Dame Nita Barrow Distinguished Visitorship in Women in Development and Community Transformation

The Dame Nita Barrow Distinguished Visitorship was established in 1997 by the Centre for Women's Studies in Education and the Department of Adult Education, Community Development and Counselling Psychology (AECD) to provide an opportunity for a woman from the Global South or Eastern/Central Europe, who has played leadership roles in autonomous women's organizing for transformative change, to spend time in residence at CWSE, to teach a course as part of the AECD graduate program and to give a university-wide lecture. Previous holders of the Visitorship include Violet Eudine Barriteau (Barbados) in 1997; Peggy Antrobus (Barbados) in 1998; Nighat Said Khan (Pakistan) in 1999; Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi (Nigeria) in 2000; Moema L. Viezzer (Brazil) in 2001; Rita Thapa (Nepal) in 2002; Alda Facio (Costa Rica) in 2003; Indai Sajor (Philippines) in 2004; and Marieme Hélie-Lucas (Algeria) in 2005. Click here for more information about past visitors. Follow this link for texts of Dame Nita Barrow lectures.

2008 Dame Nita Barrow Distinguished Visitor Wahu Kaara

Wahu Kaara is a long-time political activist and leader who brings a range of feminist analyses and alternative women- and justice-centred perspectives to her work. She ran for parliament in Kenya in 2002 and 2007 and was a delegate to the country’s Constitutional Conference, which in 2004 completed drafting a new national constitution whose deeply democratic proposals were rejected by the government. She has served as Director of the Kenyan Debt Relief Network, Chair of the Steering Committee of the East African Coalition on Economic, Social, Cultural Rights, Co-ordinator of the debt campaign of the African Women’s Economic Policy Network and Member of the Steering Committee of the World Social Forum, which was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya in January 2007.

Ms. Kaara will teach course number AEC3132 entitled "Grassroots Women's Struggles and Global Social Justice: Life Histories of Kenyan Women Activists" at OISE in the fall of 2008.

Dame Nita Barrow

The late Dame Nita Barrow, former Governor-General of Barbados, studied nursing at the University of Toronto from 1944 to 1948. She served at various times as the world wide President of the Young Women’s Christian Association, the World President of the International Council for Adult Education, President of the World Council of Churches, and Barbados Ambassador to the United Nations. A member of the Global Fund for Women’s Board of Directors, Dame Nita was also a member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Mission to South Africa in 1986 and the Convenor of the NGO Forum for Women at the United Nations World Congress on Women in Nairobi in 1985. In all these capacities Dame Nita championed the causes of justice, equality, peace, and the empowerment of women. With high government office, diplomacy, and statescraft, she linked grass roots initiatives and loyalties and was a tower of strength to local and world-wide movements inspired by her spirit of activism, compassion, brilliance, common sense and joy. Dame Nita’s life was an outstanding example of dedication, commitment and selfless service to women, men and children, especially the poor, dispossessed and disadvantaged.