Sally Wishart Armstrong (born 1943) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

journalist, documentary filmmaker, and human rights activist.

Career

Armstrong was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. She received a Bachelor of Education degree from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1966 and a Master of Science degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 2001. From 1975 to 1988, she worked for ''

Canadian Living ''Canadian Living'' is a monthly Canadian lifestyle magazine, which publishes articles relating to food, fashion, crafts, and health and family advice. History and profile The magazine was created by Clem Compton-Smith and his business partner, ...

'' magazine. From 1988 to 1999 she was editor-in-chief of ''

Homemakers Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a house ...

'' magazine. She was a contributing editor of

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

from 2001 to 2010. In 2002, she was

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

's Special Representative to Afghanistan. She is the author of ''Mila'' (1992), ''Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan'' (2002), ''The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor'' (2007), ''Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots: The Uncertain Fate of Afghanistan's Women'' (2008), and ''Ascent of Women: A New Age Is Dawning for Every Mother's Daughter'' (2013). In 2001, she was the scriptwriter for the documentary ''Falling from the Sky'' and ''Daughters of Afghanistan'' in 2003.

Honours

In 1998, she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. In 2002, she was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from McGill University. In 2000, she won the

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Media Award for her article “Honour’s Victims” in ''Chatelaine'' magazine. She won again in 2002, for her article “Speaking their peace” in ''Chatelaine'' magazine and again in 2011 for her article “These Little Girls are Setting out to Change the World” in ''Chatelaine''. She provided critical support to Richard Gordon with the founding of the charity Books With Wings. Sally Armstrong is a member of a UN group consisting of 20

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

women, 20

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i women and 12 women of other nationality working to help bringing peace to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. In 1996 she was awarded Women of Distinction Award in Communications by the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

of Toronto. She was the invited speaker for the 2019 CBC

Massey Lectures The Massey Lectures is an annual five-part series of lectures given in Canada by distinguished writers, thinkers, and scholars who explore important ideas and issues of contemporary interest. Created in 1961 in honour of Vincent Massey, a forme ...

, a series entitled "Power Shift: The Longest Revolution", in which she said that "improving the status of women was crucial to our collective surviving — and thriving."

Personal

She is the mother of

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

journalist Peter Armstrong."When author talks, people listen". ''Calgary Herald'', October 15, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Sally 1943 births Living people Activists from Montreal Canadian women human rights activists Canadian human rights activists Canadian magazine editors Journalists from Montreal McGill University Faculty of Education alumni Officers of the Order of Canada University of Toronto alumni Writers from Montreal Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian women magazine editors 20th-century Canadian women journalists 20th-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian women journalists 21st-century Canadian journalists