Student Bolsters Women’s Health, Afghan Community

The success of that event has led organizers to plan a second event for Afghan women focused on mental health, to be held this sprin

The October event was designed exclusively for women. The all-female environment helped attendees feel comfortable hearing about and discussing personal health information. The main speaker, Abeer Eddib, MD, clinical assistant professor of urology in the Jacobs School, a woman and a Muslim, was chosen not only because of her expertise, but because she was someone attendees could relate to.

For those who weren’t fluent in English, Salima Panahzada translated from English to Dari, one of Afghanistan’s main languages. The Jacobs School organizers provided child care, and a halal dinner was served from a local restaurant.

For Parveen Attai, a second-year MD candidate at the Jacobs School and an Afghan native herself, these details were critical. A medical student with a master’s degree from UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions, she feels a strong responsibility to keep her community informed about health and medical topics.

“Over the last few years, there has been an influx of Afghan refugees coming to Buffalo,” she says, noting that it can be hard to access health care and other resources during resettlement. “I did feel an urgency to do an event like this, to tap into what their needs are.”

Attai is a member of Community Health Speaks, an initiative led by Jamal B. Williams, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry in the Jacobs School, that aims to bridge the divide between the scientific community and those from historically marginalized communities. 

Attai asked Williams how to arrange for funding for the event.

Williams understood her interest and the need to do it sooner, rather than later. Noting that a key goal of the Jacobs School is to serve as a resource for the community, he adds that Attai is one of the people portrayed in the vast Diversity of Medicine mural that greets visitors in the school’s atrium.

“Parveen is one of the people in the mural. This is her house and her community,” Williams says. “I told her, ‘We don’t need to wait for funding. Let’s just do it.’”

Within weeks, they had arranged for transportation for attendees, reserved a room, announced the event on an Afghan community chat on WhatsApp and arranged with a local halal restaurant to provide dinner. Williams and Mike Lamb, PhD, director of surgical education in the Department of Surgery in the Jacobs School, volunteered to provide child care and serve dinner.

Eddib’s talk focused on women’s health with an emphasis on preventive care. Topics ranged from age-specific screening tests to birth control, pregnancy and menopause. The event highlighted the need for continued community-driven health education.

“People want to do the right thing, but they may lack knowledge or be misinformed,” Attai says. “When you fill the gaps in their understanding, you empower them to take charge of their health.”

Feedback from the attendees was overwhelmingly positive. All the women indicated they benefited from the event and want to be contacted about future sessions. One attendee wrote in Dari, “Prevention is better than cure.”

Attai’s sense of urgency lies in her observation that there is a tendency to see health equity as binary, absent or present. “But health equity is a gradual process that needs attention across many different groups of people,” she says. “Buffalo is a diverse environment, and many populations have their own, specific problems. It’s important to address the root causes of health disparities with a thorough understanding of the social determinants of health.”

Williams agrees. “Without having a more diverse workforce, we will never get there,” he says. “If Parveen wasn’t here, who would be talking about Afghan women?”

Attai’s family, owners of a local bakery, has played a key role in supporting Western New York’s Afghan community. The bakery has become a hub for communicating important health information, especially critical throughout the pandemic. During that time, Attai led efforts with the Erie County Department of Health to vaccinate hesitant individuals in the county’s Afghan, Bangladeshi and Hispanic/Latino communities.

Attai’s desire to practice medicine and share health information was sparked by her mother, Razia Attai, whose dream was to become a doctor herself.

“My mother’s drive was evident from childhood; she consistently ranked as the No. 1 student in school,” Attai says. “But she was not able to finish her education due to circumstances outside her control. She was not able to become a physician herself, so instead, she nurtured two of her daughters into becoming physicians.”

Attai’s older sister, Salma Attai, MD, graduated from the Jacobs School in 2024 and is now a urology resident at UB. A younger sister, Sahar Attai, is an undergraduate pre-dental student, majoring in biomedical sciences at UB.

“I’m really passionate about uplifting communities that are disproportionately affected,” says Attai, “and I know that it’s women who cause ripples into future generations. The proverb is that ‘when you educate a woman, you educate a nation.’ She won’t keep that information to herself; she will tell her kids, her community and beyond. For me, my mother is the epitome of this proverb. Educated women are the ripple effect. That’s what fuels my passion.”

The health event was sponsored by Community Health Speaks and co-sponsored by the Office of Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement in the Jacobs School, with support from the Office of Student Development and Academic Enhancement in the Jacobs School and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement in the School of Public Health and Health Professions.