Community Love — Meet Tahera Nassrat
She’s a self-described “refugee girl turned boss lady” from Afghanistan, a humanitarian and businesswoman working to empower others to live life on their own terms.
No matter where she’s been in the world, Tahera Nassrat has lived a life in service to others, even when that meant her own life was in danger. When the Taliban surged back to power in 1999, Tahera was working with the Medicine Sans Frontiers as a financial assistant and had to flee with little more than an ID card in under 24 hours. After a stint in Pakistan working with UNICEF, she returned to Afghanistan to help achieve gender equality for women living in oppression under the regime — this was at a time when only one-in-three women were making the difficult decision to go back. Within six months, Tahera set up female recruitment programs, built gyms for women in their offices and worked to ensure women’s rights were part of the constitution.
When she eventually did move to Australia almost 19 years ago, she threw herself into reskilling and looking for work. Her rise has been meteoric. Tahera is now a tax accountant and business coach, owns her own home in Parramatta, and in 2019 founded the Afghan Peace Foundation helping refugees and immigrants lead self-sufficient lives. In 2022, she was invited to Parliament House to deliver a speech that she recites to us by heart: “I’m a refugee girl who left the country with nothing, and today I’m standing in front of everyone at Parliament House as a businesswoman.”
On empowering women
“For refugee girls from Afghanistan, the first thing that comes to mind is you're an Afghan woman, you can't do it. On the list of Afghan women, we have a lot of you cannot do. In Parramatta, I was able to take the ‘not’ out of the list and say I can do this because I get the support, I get the appreciation and acknowledgements.”
On what makes Parramatta feel like home
“It’s the multiculturalism and diversity for me. When you walk out you see it in the food, the community services, the breadth of businesses. It creates more opportunities for us all. That is what really gives you the sense of belonging. Diversity in Parramatta and Australia is at the heart of making me, and others like me, feel like they belong. It really is the land of opportunity for people from all walks of life.”
On the evolving face of Parramatta
“If you want to know Parramatta, look at someone like me. I always encourage people to go and explore. We’re professional, independent, diverse, business and community-minded people.”
Her favourite time of day in the City
“My favorite time of the day is around lunchtime because when I leave the office I feel like I'm part of the whole, a free atmosphere. You look around, you feel proud that, you know, you're part of this community, you are part of Parramatta.”
