Sally Armstrong

“I give speeches all over the place. But here’s what I want to share with you. As a journalist, I work in zones of conflict. My beat is to find out what happens to women and girls in places like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Middle East; but I also cover the status of women in North America. I haven’t had a good news story to tell in 25 years. But now I do.” - Sally Armstrong

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Journalist - World Affairs and Human Rights Expert

Sally Armstrong has covered stories in zones of conflict all over the world. From Bosnia and Somalia to Congo and Afghanistan, her eyewitness reports have earned her the Amnesty International Media Award four times over, as well as acclaim all over the world. Armstrong shares her experiences reporting from the front lines and imparts her audiences with the lessons she’s learned from the battlefields surrounding the complexities of “human rights” versus “human wrongs.”

In addition to her journalism, Sally Armstrong is the author of the books Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan; The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor; Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots: The Uncertain Fate of Afghanistan’s Women; and her most recent title, Ascent of Women: A New Age is Dawning for Every Mother’s Daughter.

2017 was a busy year for Sally Armstrong — it saw her on assignments in Iraq, Kenya, and Afghanistan, and she gave a speech in Oxford, UK, and at Oxford University. Also in 2017, Armstrong was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada, and won, along with photographer/videographer Peter Bregg, the Amnesty International Canada Media Award for their work in Iraq (her fourth Amnesty International Canada Media Award). She and Bregg also won the Gold Award for Investigative Journalism at The Canadian Online Publishing Gala for their work about the Yazidis called Resisting Genocide in 2017 as well.

Sally Armstrong is a former member of the International Women’s Commission at the UN, and is the recipient of ten honorary doctorate degrees. Her new book, Ascent of Women uses interviews with women and girls all over the world, it explains how and why a new age is dawning for every mother’s daughter. Just named to the Amelia Bloomer Project List in the US. Reviewers say the book will make you gasp, and cry and even laugh but mostly it’ll make you cheer.

Topic Presentations

Sally Armstrong's Presentations

Human Rights-Human Wrongs

Women and Children Last

The Power of One

Who in the World Cares?

A New Age is Dawning for Every Mother’s Daughter

The Shame Isn’t Ours It’s Yours

Want to Reduce Poverty, Cut Conflict and Improve the Economy? Call in the Women.

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Language Spoken

English

Travels From

Montreal, Quebec

VIDEOS

BOOKS

Ascent of Women

Ascent of Women (American title UPRISING: A New Age is Dawning for Every Mother’s Daughter). The earth is shifting under the status of women. That shift is altering intractable files such as poverty and conflict. And it’s improving the economy. Meet the extraordinary heroes – Malala Yousafzai, Sima Samar, Eve Ensler, Geena Davis who are driving change where no one believed it could happen

Veiled Threat

The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan. Veiled Threat begins on September 27, 1996, the day the Taliban seized power and put women under house arrest. It introduces the reader to the Afghan women who describe their rapid fire descent into the dark ages under the Taliban and the cloak and dagger covert action they took to subvert the hateful edicts of the rulers.

Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots

The Uncertain Fate of Afghanistan’s Women. If Veiled Threat was about what happened to the women of Afghanistan during the Taliban rule, Bitter Roots is about what happened after the Taliban were overthrown. It takes on the tapestry of unspoken truths and unravels the threads that are strangling Afghanistan’s attempts to join the 21st Century.

Having Sally Armstrong as a keynote speaker on the Friday night of our conference was a huge success! We filled the room to capacity and the venue staff were running for more chairs as we began. Sally was wonderfully gracious and she complimented our organization, personally mentioning one of our founders who was in attendance. Every single conference evaluation mentions Sally as a highlight of our weekend! We did an exercise the next day to have people recall what inspired them about Sally’s address – people had retained exact quotations which is a sign that Sally is both a good speaker and a good teacher! Sally is passionately committed to her work as a journalist, author and advocate for girls and women. Her ability to tell stories in an interesting and down to earth way, to offer insightful analysis of how the world is changing and to inspire the rest of us to ‘get on board’ for positive change is really inspiring
The Catholic Network for Women's Equality

Our Sally Armstrong fundraising dinner was a smashing success. Sold out crowd of 220 who were totally captivated by this amazing woman and her inspiring message. Nothing but positive feedback. Would have no qualms about hearing her speak again.
- Board of Directors Member, Ingamo Homes

The articulate and passionate stories of your experiences in Rwanda, Somalia, and Afghanistan and the women with whom you came in contact, were at once disturbing, heart rendering and heart warming. You painted touching and realistic pictures that provoked insight and context for the following day that served as a foundation on which all of the subsequent speakers could build.
Commission of Graduates of Foreign Nursing School

She was the absolute perfect speaker for our event. She took the time to research and take in the event and artfully wove together our YMCA Peace Medal recipients and their personal stories with her message. It was the perfect message for our event and the people we were honouring and I so appreciated her time and care she took in preparation for the speech to make it so personal to our community.
YMCA Northumberland