About us
JEINA empowers women from forced migration backgrounds with tailored support, fostering equity, inclusion, and opportunity.
Vision
JEINA will contribute to building an equitable future for women from forced migration backgrounds by creating an ecosystem of support for those at UNSW and the wider community.
How
JEINA is building this ecosystem via three inter-connected areas:
Research
Identify the specific educational and career development needs of forced migrant women students at UNSW, supported by the latest evidence on gaps that hinder progress within our community.
Super-connector platform
A central resource hub and information gateway that connects women from forced migration backgrounds with services, tools, processes, and training materials, all in one place. This platform serves as a soft-landing pad, helping students navigate their higher education journey at UNSW, from entry and student life through to workforce transition. It will also promote lifelong learning for the wider community.
Programs & partnerships
Foster and encourage a journey of empowerment and knowledge exchange through tailored mentorships, leadership training, career coaching, scholarships, and networking opportunities. These initiatives are designed for women from forced migration backgrounds to support their education and career development journeys.
Background
Derived from a word and a name reserved for women in Kurdish ژینا meaning ‘life/life-giver’, JEINA is committed to creating transformative opportunities for migrant women, especially those from forced displacement backgrounds at UNSW and across the wider community.
JEINA recognises that people leave their homelands for many reasons. Forced migration, however, occurs when individuals are compelled to flee due to armed conflict, violence, human rights abuses, or disasters. Women from these backgrounds often face compounded challenges in host countries that hinder their social and professional development. These include cultural adjustment, trauma, financial hardship, language barriers, limited access to information, risk of exploitation, and navigating unfamiliar education and employment systems.
Enabling educational opportunities and providing tailored support and opportunities for displaced women aligns closely with UNSW’s Progress for All strategy by fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion and promoting social impact and Progress for All.
JEINA is your gateway to connect with resources and opportunities across UNSW and beyond. We invite you to join the JEINA Community
Our values
Aligned with UNSW’s Progress for All strategy, JEINA supports our audience in education, advancing equal opportunities for all, founded by our central values:
Our people
Dr. Parisa Glass
PhD MBA GAICD
Dr Parisa Glass is the Director of Innovation and Enterprise for The George Institute for Global Health. In this role, she leads Health 10x Accelerator in partnership with UNSW Founders. Health 10x accelerator supports startups developing affordable and scalable solutions to some of the most pressing unmet medical needs, globally. Parisa also holds Director of Operations position with UNSW Clinical Research Unit (CRU). In 2024, Parisa founded the UNSW Justice Inclusion Access (JEINA) initiative.
Parisa has a PhD in Biomedical Science and a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). She is also a Senior Lecturer at UNSW. Parisa has over twenty years’ experience in health and university sectors in operational and academic capacity. Her expertise is in operational leadership & optimisation, strategic planning, coaching & mentoring, managing change, financial management, program development and management, contract negotiations, stakeholder management and recruiting and developing top talent.
Dr. Elnaz Irannezhad
Dr Elnaz (Elli) Irannezhad is a Senior Lecturer of transport engineering in the UNSW’s Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovations (rCITI) at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Elli's research contributes to the advancement of science in cross-disciplinary fields, including logistics and transport engineering, machine learning, automated vehicle technologies, Industry 4.0 and blockchain technology. Her professional journey spans significant roles within the transportation sector, contributing over seven years as a transport engineer and senior transport modeller in Iran before undertaking PhD, fostering invaluable experiences in client interaction and applying engineering expertise in real-world settings.
Sherine Al Shallah
Sherine Al Shallah is an economist, solicitor, teaching fellow and doctoral researcher with over twenty years’ experience in senior policy roles. Sherine completed her postgraduate economics degree at London School of Economics and a postgraduate law degree at UNSW Sydney, where she is currently pursuing a PhD. Sherine's doctoral research project examines the international legal frameworks (refugee, human rights and cultural heritage) for the protection of refugee cultural heritage (in particular, cultural objects). She was a visiting researcher and guest lecturer at the University of Milan-Bicocca, Jagiellonian University and Politecnico di Torino, and has completed human rights course work at Aarhus University.
Sherine has worked as a refugee caseworker and job advisor with asylum seeker centres and Talent Beyond Boundaries. In 2021, Sherine also completed an internship with the United Nations at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia, for which she performed admissibility analyses for victim statements in relation to crimes against humanity committed by the Khmer Rouge regime.
Samah Shda
Samah Shda is the Projects Coordinator at JEINA, where she brings over a decade of experience working at the intersection of refugee protection, migrant inclusion, and global humanitarian frameworks. A storyteller and public speaker, Samah is also the CEO and Founder of Unbound Stories, a consultancy advancing equity through lived experience and ethical storytelling.
A UNSW graduate, Samah’s research focused on refugee access to higher education and the information journeys of students navigating new systems in host countries. She integrates this research and her international consultancy background into JEINA’s mission to centre lived experience in entrepreneurship and innovation.
Maryam Zahid
Maryam Zahid is an internationally recognised Afghan-Australian human rights leader and social entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of Afghan Women on the Move (AWOTM), a grassroots organisation empowering Afghan and refugee women through education, economic participation, and advocacy. Under her leadership, AWOTM has become a trusted voice advancing gender equity and community-led solutions for women from conflict-affected backgrounds.
Maryam is a specialist in cultural diversity, gender equity, and social impact. With over two decades of experience, she brings deep expertise in stakeholder engagement, policy advocacy, and media communications—particularly across refugee health, domestic policy, and community development.
An award-winning changemaker, Maryam’s work bridges grassroots activism with high-level policy influence. She serves on multiple advisory boards across all levels of government and has represented diaspora voices on national and global platforms, including the United Nations. Her creative practice as a playwright and storyteller further amplifies marginalised voices and strengthens public understanding of refugee women's lived experiences. Find more about Afghan Women on the Move.
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