Reports on Women’s Equality Day, History of the Women's Suffrage Movement
A Report
on Women’s Equality Day “Equali-Tea”
Prepared by: Dr. Soraya Fallah
Co-President & Advocacy Chair
United Nations Association of the USA – San Fernando Valley Chapter (UNA-USA
SFV)
Event Overview
On August 23, 2026, Dr. Soraya Fallah was honored to participate as an invited speaker at the Women’s Equality Day “Equali-Tea” event hosted by Los Angeles City Council District 2 Councilmember Adrin Nazarian and the CD2 Women’s Advisory Committee and United Nations Association of the USA – San Fernando Valley Chapter (UNA-USA SFV)
at
Faith Presbyterian Church.
The event brought together community members, advocates,
civic leaders, and representatives of organizations committed to advancing
women’s equality. The program recognized Women’s Equality Day and
reflected on the history of the women’s suffrage movement while addressing the
continuing work needed to advance equality and women's leadership.
The program included remarks from Councilmember Adrin
Nazarian, Ginny Hatfield of the American Association of University Women
(AAUW), Dr. Soraya Fallah, and other community leaders and invited
speakers.
Yes. I would revise that section to accurately capture
Councilmember Nazarian’s contribution:
Speakers and Community Leadership
The program included remarks from Los Angeles City
Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, Ginny Hatfield of the American Association
of University Women (AAUW), Dr. Soraya Fallah, and other invited
speakers and community leaders.
Councilmember Adrin Nazarian spoke about the importance
of equality and emphasized the power of civic participation, including the
importance of voting and making one's voice heard in the democratic process.
His remarks reinforced the connection between equality and active participation
in civic life.
Ginny Hatfield of AAUW contributed to the
conversation on women’s equality, bringing the perspective of an organization
with a longstanding commitment to advancing educational and economic
opportunities for women and girls.She introduced Dr. Soraya Fallah, the co president
of UNA USA, SFV chapter.
Dr. Soraya Fallah connected the theme of Women’s
Equality Day to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and
highlighted the importance of ensuring that women—including those from
culturally and linguistically diverse communities—have meaningful opportunities
for education, leadership, participation, and decision-making.
The range of speakers and perspectives underscored that
advancing equality requires community engagement, civic participation,
advocacy, and collective action.
Dr. Soraya Fallah’s Participation
Dr. Fallah was invited to speak in her capacity as Co-President
and Advocacy Chair of the United Nations Association of the USA, San Fernando
Valley Chapter (UNA-USA SFV).
Her remarks focused on the connection between Women’s
Equality Day and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5): Gender
Equality, emphasizing the importance of moving from international
commitments and principles to meaningful action within local communities.
She shared her perspective as a woman from a culturally
and linguistically diverse (CLD) community, highlighting the importance of
ensuring that women from diverse backgrounds have meaningful access to
education, leadership, civic participation, resources, and decision-making.
Connecting Women’s Equality Day to SDG 5
A central focus of Soraya's remarks was SDG 5,
which calls for achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
She emphasized that gender equality is not solely a women's
issue. It is also a human rights, development, democracy, and community
issue.
Dr. Fallah discussed the interconnectedness of SDG 5 with
other Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty reduction, quality
education, health, economic opportunity, peace, and inclusive communities.
She emphasized that achieving equality requires more than
recognizing women's rights in principle. It requires access, participation,
representation, implementation, and action.
A CLD Perspective on Women's Equality
Dr. Fallah brought a culturally and linguistically diverse
perspective to the discussion, emphasizing that women do not experience
inequality in identical ways.
Language, culture, displacement, immigration or refugee
experiences, economic circumstances, access to education and healthcare, and
opportunities for civic engagement can all affect women's ability to
participate fully in society.
She highlighted the importance of ensuring that women from immigrant,
refugee, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities are not
simply included in conversations about equality but are given meaningful
opportunities to participate in leadership and decision-making.
As Soraya emphasized in her remarks, having a voice and
being heard are essential elements of equality.
Community and Civic Engagement
The presence of elected officials, community leaders,
women's organizations, advocates, and community members created an important
space for dialogue about women's equality and civic participation.
The participation of Councilmember Adrin Nazarian
and U.S. Representative Luz Rivas, along with speakers such as Ginny
Hatfield of AAUW and other invited participants, brought together
perspectives from government, nonprofit organizations, advocacy, and the
broader community.
This diversity of voices demonstrated the importance of
collaboration across organizations and sectors in advancing women's equality.
Strong Community Response
The event received an exceptionally strong response, with many
people registering to attend.
For Soraya, the high level of interest was an encouraging
indication that there is a strong appetite for equality and for
meaningful conversations about women's rights, leadership, civic participation,
and empowerment.
The turnout also demonstrated that Women’s Equality Day
continues to provide an important opportunity to engage community members in
both the historical and contemporary dimensions of women's equality.
UNA-USA SFV and the Call to Action
Dr. Fallah used the opportunity to connect the discussion
to the work of UNA-USA SFV and its commitment to education, advocacy,
civic engagement, human rights, and the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals.
She invited attendees who are interested in gender
equality, human rights, the SDGs, and global issues to become involved with UNA-USA.
She emphasized that people do not need to be diplomats or
international-relations experts to participate. Meaningful change can begin
with learning, engaging, advocating, and using one's voice.
The Women’s Equality Day “Equali-Tea” was a meaningful
community event that brought together diverse voices to recognize the progress
of women while acknowledging the work that remains.
For Dr. Soraya Fallah, being invited to participate as a
speaker provided an opportunity to connect the historical significance of
Women’s Equality Day with the global commitment represented by SDG 5 and
with the work being carried out locally through advocacy and civic engagement.
The event demonstrated that equality remains a subject of
strong community interest and that there is an ongoing desire to move beyond
celebration toward meaningful action.
Women’s Equality Day reminds us of the progress achieved
through advocacy and collective action. SDG 5 reminds us that the work is not
finished.
The responsibility now is to continue building communities
where women and girls—regardless of their cultural, linguistic, economic, or
social background—have the opportunity to participate, lead, and have their
voices heard.
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