Celebrating Women’s History Month: Tamil Canadian Women as Agents of Change

Posted on: October 2nd, 2013

October is Women’s History Month in Canada. Kumukam.com joins fellow Canadians in celebrating and recognizing the contributions made by girls and women in Canada. This month, Kumukam.com will profile thirty amazing Tamil Canadian women who are actively engaged in community development, arts and sports development, civic engagement and social justice work in Canada. Kumukam.com will share a profile a day throughout the month of October. The theme for this year as determined by Status of Women Canada (Canadian Government) is Canadian Women Pioneers: Inspiring change through ongoing leadership. Therefore, it is fitting that Kumukam.com shines a spotlight on these thirty women who are engaged in pioneering work in our community.

Jessica Thyriar:

Jessica Thyriar is a graduate of York University with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology-Honours. She became active in the Tamil community through her leadership role as the Vice-President Events & Vice-President Education of the York University Tamil Students Association. Working with Tamil students at York, she helped raise awareness with the greater community and began to get active within the students union, the York Federation of Students. Jessica currently serves as the President of the York Federation of Students, representing over 53,000 students, and has served previous positions as the Vice-President Campus Life and the Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Director. Jessica also currently serves as the Racialized Representative for the Canadian Federation of Students.

Throughout university, Jessica has worked with various Tamil community organizations to plan and execute events. Jessica worked as the Vice President Events for the Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance, and along with the board of directors, planned and executed Thaalam, an inter-university dance competition.  Jessica, as a member of the Tamil Youth Organization is also committed to raising awareness and seeking justice for the human rights violations that Tamils have faced on the island of Sri Lanka, and continues to work in informing the greater community as to why an independent state of Tamil Eelam is necessary.

 Currently at York, Jessica works on various campaigns of the students union that aim to combat forms of discrimination and violence on campus, and promote greater access to post-secondary education for all students. Jessica is committed to combatting all forms of oppression including but not limited to sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism. Jessica carries the principles of equity and social justice in her work both within the Tamil community and in solidarity with the struggles of marginalized groups in our society.                             Read more