Firhaana Bulbulia, a Muslim, born and raised in the predominantly Christian Barbadian society, explores perceptions of what it means to be a “Bajan”? How do we represent our collective identity and what does it reveal about us as a people?
Bulbulia is a graduate of the University of the West Indies with a First class honours degree in Psychology. She was awarded an Emerging Global Leaders Scholarship to complete part of her tertiary education at York University in Toronto, Canada.
She is currently pursuing her Diploma in Education at Erdiston Teacher’s Training College in Barbados. Firhaana has spent the past 5 years teaching special needs children and has travelled to Kenya, through AIESEC’S Global Citizen programme to teach children with Dyslexia at the Rare Gem Talent School in Kitengala.
She is passionate about education and women’s rights. In 2010, Firhaana founded the Barbados Association of Muslim Ladies to promote the holistic development of women and girls within the Muslim community of Barbados.
Recently she was honoured with the Queen’s Young Leader award for 2016. She is the current Policy and Advocacy Vice-Chair for the Caribbean Regional Youth Council.
There are approximately 4,000 Muslims in Barbados, that’s less than 2% of the country’s population. Firhaana Bulbulia is a young Muslim woman who belongs to that group. Her story is important in many ways, first she has changed the general perception of young Muslim women and secondly her work demonstrates the power of individual action.
Story adapted from Building Bridges | Firhaana Bulbulia | TEDxBridgetown
