On Thursday, Oct. 8, women from all over Long Island gathered at the Crest Hollow Country Club to pay tribute five very special women who have made a difference in this world. The Women Achiever Breakfast held by the Women’s Fund of Long Island identified two prominent Manhaset women, Dr. Isma Habib Chaudhry and Dorothy Forte, amongst the five honorees which included Bernice Sims. Abby Roden and Rachel Gladstone. These women each come from very different backgrounds,but have made a profound difference in the lives of their community. The impressive credentials were only magnified when they took the podium to speak and clearly showed that they were exceptional for many more reasons than were stated in their background history.
Dr. Isma Habib Chaudhry was the first woman achiever introduced at the breakfast. Dr. Chaudhry is a physician by profession and an interfaith activist and champion for the rights of Muslim women. Her speech touched the hearts of listeners when she spoke of women. “Women don’t just raise their children they raise communities, nations and leaders,” said Dr. Chaudhry. Her biggest challenge, which became the mission of her life, was to combat Islamophobia, and to restore the distorted image of Muslim women. She asks to ignore the stereotypical image of Islam and Muslim women, the image polluted by ignorance, cultural arrogance and political motivation. Look at what the religion prescribes, the respect, the rights and the status of women.
“Everyday when I open the newspaper I get a rude awakening that a lot of work needs to be done, in empowering women and young girls with education and skills to make them use their full potential to built a strong and healthy society. It should not be a surprise that in regions where women are marginalized and girls uneducated, there is disproportionate poverty, chaos and fundamentalism.” said Chaudhry. “Women struggle, strive and invest in their children in the hope for a better future for them, and that’s what makes them visionaries.” She ended her speech with a quote from Diane Marichild “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.
Dorothy Forte was introduced by Arda Nazerian, a WFLI Board member and friend of Forte. Her focus continues to be on the positive impact made by the all-volunteer team at the Manhasset Women’s Coalition Against Breast Cancer (MWCABC) and especially the Outreach Program, which she helped found more than 10 years ago.
During her speech she admitted to the crowded room that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer this past June. In a strained voice, she admitted to the crowd she has come out the other side.
“It’s been an honor to be involved with the MWCABC since it was founded almost 20 years ago and to work with so many strong, caring women to create and expand our outreach program, which has touched so many lives in our community,” said Forte. “To be recognized by the Women’s Fund of Long Island for work that I’m passionate about is humbling and an incredible tribute. I’m grateful to be able to spread the word about our outreach program across Long Island.”
Every woman honored at the breakfast spoke and was truly charismatic about the challenges each faced. Whether young or old. The story each verbalized showed how each managed through the events with their femininity intact and their iron will determination focused to get the job done.
A standing ovation was given to each honoree. For more information on this organization go to www.
womensfundli.org.
