Afghan-Canadian author, speaker and moderator. I lead nuanced conversations on identity, belonging, Afghanistan, diaspora and the stories that shape how we understand one another.
Creator of Hyphenated: The Third Category.
Growing up with a hyphen in my identity is a story I share with millions. I grew up in Canada after my family resettled here from Afghanistan, navigating multiple worlds and languages as a child. I moved back to my homeland and spent about 15 years there before returning to Canada in 2019. Those years gave me a very different understanding of both countries and an acute awareness of the distance between how a place is represented and how life there is actually lived. They also made me think more deeply about identity: what we inherit, what we resist, and what happens when neither side of the hyphen can fully describe us.
Those years weren't only about observing. I directed the Afghan version of Sesame Street, founded Sisters 4 Sisters Girls Mentorship program and led national media campaigns. What I learned about who gets to tell a place's stories shapes everything I write and say today.
Writing became one way for me to explore those questions. Speaking, workshops and facilitated conversations deepened my curiosity, allowing me to hear how many people were navigating experiences they recognized but didn't yet have the language to name. My interactions and observations on both sides of the hyphen led me to develop Hyphenated: The Third Category, an original framework for understanding identity and belonging beyond the expectation that we must choose between cultures.
Today, I bring together lived experience, professional work, writing and public conversation to make complex ideas feel human and accessible. Whether I'm writing, speaking, moderating panels and public conversations, facilitating or advising on cultural narratives, I'm interested in creating the kind of recognition that allows people to see themselves and each other with more clarity and compassion. It's a freedom I found for myself that I dream of paying forward.
Hyphenated: The Third Category is a way of understanding life lived between cultures not as a gap to close, but as a complete space of its own.
Built from years of lived experience, speaking, and storytelling, it gives audiences language for something many have felt but never quite named: the pull between homelands, fluency in more than one worldview, and a sense of belonging that doesn't require choosing sides.
The framework is currently being developed through writing, conversations, workshops and a forthcoming book.
Afghan Short Fiction with ArtLords Illustrations
After about 15 years living in Afghanistan, Mina returned to Canada and found a gap between the headlines about Afghanistan and the daily life she had actually lived and witnessed. Sharing the sensory beauty of her homeland through vivid fiction became the starting point for Your War, Our Lives. Through a range of Afghan voices and perspectives, Your War, Our Lives offers an intimate look at everyday life beyond the headlines — blending storytelling with original ArtLords illustrations to challenge assumptions and centre Afghan experiences.
“This book questions the idea of war being the only story worth telling. Instead, it offers twelve truths of proof that humanity exists in quiet, in vitality, in the in-between moments, and in focus.”
Britney Gaudin, Usawa Literary Review
ISBN: 978-1-0694637-0-8 : accessible to order for indie bookstores, academic institutions & libraries
Afghan Women on Courage, Freedom, and the Fight to Be Heard
Contributing Author: Mina Sharif
Edited by Nahid Shahalimi · Foreword by Margaret Atwood
A Penguin national bestseller collecting first-hand accounts from Afghan women.
Keynotes exploring identity, belonging, narrative and the space between cultures. Giving audiences new language for experiences they may have felt but never fully named. Drawing from Hyphenated: The Third Category, lived experience and storytelling, Mina creates talks that resonate across academic, corporate and community audiences.
Interactive workshops exploring identity, narrative, belonging and cross-cultural understanding. Drawing from lived experience across cultures and years of professional work in communications, displacement and public engagement, Mina combines original frameworks, facilitated conversation and practical reflection to help participants examine inherited assumptions, articulate complex experiences and engage more thoughtfully across difference.
Cultural and narrative consultation for film, media and creative projects seeking greater nuance, authenticity and context in how cultures, identities and lived experiences are represented.
In-person or virtual visits to accompany Your War, Our Lives — for book clubs, literature courses, diaspora studies, gender studies, and area studies programs.
Guest lectures include the University of Toronto, Oxford University, and York University.
Commentary and conversation on identity, belonging, Afghanistan, diaspora and cultural narratives for media, panels and public events.
Years of speaking, writing and workshop experience shape how Mina moderates. She prepares closely with organisers and guests, so each conversation feels natural, stays on time and gives the audience language for what they came to understand.
"If your organization or audience is navigating identity, belonging, or cross-cultural connection, let's talk."
Inquire NowFeedback from recent talks and workshops.
She created an open, inclusive atmosphere that allowed for dynamic discussions… Mina's lecture left a lasting impact, and her knowledge and passion truly inspired the class.
Jocelyn Orb, BScN, MADirector, Student Wellness Centre, University of Saskatchewan
You covered so many important topics and we learned a great deal… it changed my understanding of the challenges with resettling here.
Abbe MarcusCo-Chair, CSI–Briarcliff Resettlement Committee
An impactful presentation… challenging simplified narratives and offering valuable insight for researchers and students alike.
Giulia DanieleDeputy Director, CEI-Iscte · Assistant Professor, Iscte–University Institute of Lisbon
Mina's writing and voice have reached audiences across Canadian media like CBC and TVO, Afghan media like Afghanistan International and MAWJ TV, and international platforms like BBC and Al Jazeera.
Tell me about your event, audience and the conversation you want to create. I'm available for in-person and virtual events in Canada and internationally.