Saima Hussain
What does it mean for you to be part of the Shoe Project? We asked The Shoe Project participants to write to us about their experience in The Project. This is a reminiscence we received from alumna Saima Hussain.
“Here I met the incredibly resilient and wise women.”
The Shoe Project was about sisterhood. Sitting around one table, we, women from virtually every part of the globe, shared our personal stories over cups of tea.
We laughed, cried, and hugged. We bonded. It was a unique and enriching experience. We heard first-hand about living in a refugee camp in South Sudan, about lining up early in the morning to buy goods in Communist Poland, and about sexy red shoes in Turkey. We all walked a mile in each other’s shoes (pun intended!) and learned so much from one another.
I will forever be in awe of the incredibly resilient and wise women I met. And I will carry their stories with me everywhere I go.
Saima Hussain was born in Karachi, Pakistan. She holds an MA in South Asian Studies from the University of Toronto and an MLIS from the University of Western Ontario. She is the author of “The Muslimah Who Fell to Earth: Personal Stories by Canadian Muslim Women” (2016) and “The Arab World Thought of It: Inventions, Innovations and Amazing Facts” (2013). Saima is a librarian in the public library system and continues her involvement in arts and community projects.
Read the story that Saima Hussain wrote for The Shoe Project. Please follow the link to our interactive map. Select the country Pakistan in the dropdown menu. Click on a pin to read the story.