Honorary Skirts - SkirtsAfire Festival

Since our beginning in 2013, SkirtsAfire has had an Honorary Skirt. Each year when we consider who we should choose for our next Honorary Skirt, we look for a woman who is well known for her work, accomplishments and community spirit; who inspires greatness from other women. Someone who is passionate and clearly connected to the community she serves.

Her Honour, the Honourable Salma Lakhani, AOE, B.Sc., LLD (hon)
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

Honorary Skirt 2023

Salma Lakhani became Alberta’s 19^th Lieutenant Governor on August 26, 2020. Her longstanding service as a community leader and volunteer has been guided by her deep commitment to the values of pluralism and inclusion and to championing those who face barriers in life.

Salma Lakhani was born in Kampala, Uganda as a member of the city’s Ismaili Muslim community. She attended the Aga Khan School in Kampala before pursuing a degree in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Manchester. During her summer visit to Kampala in 1972, it was announced that the country’s Asian minority population was to be expelled. Salma returned immediately to UK. Three months later, her family was stripped of virtually everything and she was stranded in England as a stateless person.

With the British Government covering their tuition, Salma and her fellow exile, Zaheer Lakhani, were able to complete their degrees. They married in 1977 and the University of Alberta accepted Zaheer for postgraduate medical studies in Edmonton. Dr. Lakhani established himself as a cardiologist while Salma helped to manage his practice and operated a business focused on early childhood education. As a volunteer she has served NorQuest College’s Youth in Transition program and 1000Women: A Million Possibilities movement, the Lois Hole Hospital for Women, Kids Kottage, Sorrentino’s Compassion House, the Alberta Cancer Board, the Zebra Foundation, Aga Khan Foundation Canada and the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. During a year’s sabbatical in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Dr. Lakhani set up hospital cardiac services while Salma volunteered with schools and women’s charities.

She holds the Alberta Centennial Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee (Alberta) Medal, an Honorary Diploma from NorQuest College and an Honourary Degree from the University of Alberta. As Lieutenant Governor, she is a Member and Chancellor of the Alberta Order of Excellence.