AbuSrair: Ask to Pave the Path for Social Justice

In today’s world, social justice is more than just multiculturalism issues. It is also very important to understand when it comes to having diversity and inclusion. Promoting the proper resources and skills to communicate with others about their differences will help make a great mixed community.

Fatimah Abusrair (Saudi Advocate): “The importance of social justice is evidenced by the increasing number of people asking about it. While it’s not an exact science, asking about diversity can simply help you connect with people and understand how their differences are not harmful”

Fatimah shared more detailed ideas in our conversation with her:

• In what ways do you feel it is appropriate to incorporate topics related to diversity into your community? How would you do this?

The most successful communities are those that are driven by diverse people because they tend to require a lot of thought and effort to develop. In order to get the most out of them, you also need people who are willing to share efforts with the other in order to make it easier for all different groups to share a community/ country peacefully. Moreover, I divide it to diversity, tolerance, and inclusion to make it easier to digest.

• What challenges do you think people might face in working with a diverse population?

I understand that some people may be aware of coexistence and tolerance, but still unconvinced. If that were the case, I would gently but firmly push them to recognize that while diversity might be uncomfortable, it’s worth seeking out a diverse team in order to push ourselves to think beyond our own experiences and assumptions.

• Why do you think it is important to address diversity and equity issues currently, and what are some ways you might do that?

The world is struggling to bring in these topics within certain societies and overall planting different cultures within any community is difficult. They are probably aware of the other divers cultures but will never be inclusive when it comes to their societies—Where people who are different have a real voice in the small communities—could help us achieve our goals.

• How would you advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion with people who do not understand its importance?

By using some techniques, I was able to expand my engagement and enhance communication. It is not easy to increase social justice but overall, it helped me to engage with more people from other backgrounds. I was also able to discuss it with people who treat it differently.

• How would you describe your current thinking about social justice, and how has your thinking changed over time?

I am passionate about seeing to it that every member of my society team believes they are feasible and realistic. We need to be keen to pick up new habits from others. Cultural variety enhances societies and strengthens us as a community. However, it hasn’t been an easy journey for me. I have changed and developed especially in the last four years. As it’s a very sensitive topic, I have been working hard to put my hand to all the needed resources to be able to deliver the messages precisely. I have struggled due to the lack of presence online for those who are truly working in educating and creating awareness in some parts of the world but the journey continues.