Dr Hafsa Ahmed was recognised for her services to ethnic communities and women as a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year’s Honours for 2023.
Dr Ahmed is the co-founder of Lady Khadija Charitable Trust along with her husband Razi Syed.
The Trust was founded in 2016 with a vision of "Empowering communities through compassion."
In response to being named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Dr Ahmed told the Indian Weekender, "It is a great honour to receive this recognition. As an immigrant from Hyderabad, India who's been a NZ resident for 15 years, I never thought I would be so honoured. I am humbled because it acknowledges my service to my community."
Ahmed found out about her nomination late last year.
“It was an absolute surprise for me. When I read the email, I jumped out of my seat and thanked God for His blessing.”
After moving to New Zealand in 2007, Ahmed enrolled at Lincoln University to pursue her childhood dream, following her father's footsteps of doing a PhD.
Ahmed now works as a lecturer at Lincoln University.
Since the mosque attack on March 15, 2019, Ahmed and her Trust have been working on multiple projects to highlight social cohesion, integrate diverse communities and help the Muslim community feel safe and belong.
Some of her projects that have received great appreciation include Immigrant Journeys, Uniting Canterbury Women, Boxes of Love, Giving Seeds of Love, Together in Humanity and Open Table.
Sharing plans for 2023, Ahmed says, “Receiving the honour affirms that the work we have been doing as part of Lady Khadija Trust has been important. 2023 is going to be another year where we focus on achieving social cohesion in the community through our projects. The first one is Community of Strangers (https://communityofstrangers.org.nz/), where we aim to understand bias and belonging. The second is a podcast 'Our Connectedness' which aims to understand and learn about the connections across our cultures by exploring the similarities between Asian and Maori cultures.”
Ahmed thanks her husband, Raziuddin Syed, and their children, Hussain and Zahra, saying, "Without their support and encouragement, I could not have been able to serve our communities. I am also grateful to my employer Lincoln University, who have been a very big supporter of all my efforts and to all the amazing people who have been part of my journey so far – I was only able to do things because I met really good people. And last but not least, to the person who nominated me – I do not know who that was, so thank you for putting your trust in me.”