Durkhanai Ayubi

2018 Cohort

Durkhanai is working to decode what power could look like, based on a reconstructed sense of identity, and communicating this through speaking and writing, as well as making and sharing traditional Afghan food to shift boundaries.

Durkhanai is a first generation migrant from Afghanistan and currently owns and operates her own Afghan restaurants in Adelaide, South Australia.

As a restaurateur and writer, Durkhanai plans to use the transformative power of shared experiences through food, to help people unlearn discrimination and empower them to be advocates for social change.

Dukhanai is also a freelance journalist for The Age, New Matilda, The Adelaide Review, The Drum and Crikey. She is the co-founder and assistant editor of Sultana's Dream, a not-for-profit online magazine written and produced by Australian Muslim Women, to provide an unbiased narrative on the experiences of Australian Muslim women on issues ranging from culture, society and politics.

She currently sits on the Committee for Adelaide, and previously sat on the Board of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute. Dukhanai has a Bachelor of Science Chemistry (Honours) from Flinders University of South Australia.

“Food can be a powerful tool to help challenge people’s perceptions, because it is a snapshot on a plate of a country’s history and geography. It tells a broader story which is often contradictory to what has become accepted as a common narrative.”