Senator Mobina Jaffer
Senator Mobina Jaffer was born in Kampala Uganda and was the first of six children. She attended several Aga Khan schools from kindergarten to high school. She even received a scholarship for a high school exchange program in the United States and spent a year studying in Washington. She had just completed her law degree from London University and returned to Uganda when the expulsion decree was announced.
Senator Jaffer reflected on the trauma that ensued in Uganda following the expulsion period particularly for her family as both her father and her husband were kidnapped by the Ugandan military. Fortunately, due to close relations with several Ugandan Africans, Senator Jaffer’s family was able to flee the country along with her husband to London, England. Eventually, they moved to Vancouver in 1975 as Senator Jaffer’s father had always dreamed of retiring in Vancouver.
Senator Jaffer became a lawyer in 1978 and served as the first female South Asian lawyer in Canada. She entered politics in the 1980s and eventually became a Senator in 2001 while serving as the president of the Women’s Commission. Senator Jaffer has continued to serve the public in numerous capacities while continuing to practice law at her practice in Vancouver.
This oral history was conducted at Senator Jaffer’s office in Vancouver, British Columbia.