Photo of Commissioner Kasari Govender, 2020
Pronunciation
(keh-SAR’-ee GUV’-en-der)
Biography
Short bio
B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, started her five-year term on Sept. 3, 2019. As an independent officer of the Legislature, Commissioner Govender is uniquely positioned to ensure human rights in B.C. are protected, respected and advanced on a systemic level. Her work through BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner centres listening deeply to British Columbians to inform educational materials, policy guidance, public inquiries, interventions, community-based research and more that protects marginalized communities, addresses discrimination and injustice and upholds human rights for all.
Full bio
Kasari Govender took office as B.C.’s first independent Human Rights Commissioner on Sept. 3, 2019. Her role is to lead the promotion and protection of human rights in British Columbia through the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner.
Govender has devoted her life to promoting human rights, with a focus on the rights of those most marginalized. In her legal work as a constitutional and human rights lawyer, she has worked closely with people fighting for human rights, including gender equality, Indigenous rights, children’s rights, the rights of people with disabilities and the rights of racialized people and newcomers. She is passionate about equality rights and using the law as a tool to build a more equal and just B.C.
From 2008 until 2019, Govender held leadership positions at West Coast LEAF and was appointed executive director in 2011. Her earlier work includes a pivotal role in establishing the Rise Women’s Legal Centre, a non-profit legal clinic in B.C. She is currently the vice-chair of government relations for the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies. Govender has co-authored key reports and articles, led the groundbreaking inquiry into the rise of hate during the COVID-19 pandemic and speaks widely on crucial social issues such as hate speech, gender-based violence, human rights issues in policing and systemic racism.
Govender earned her law degree from the University of Victoria and has a master’s degree in international human rights law from the University of Oxford, U.K. She has served on the board of directors for the University of Victoria, Pivot Legal Society, the Coalition for Public Legal Services, and the Society for Children and Youth. Govender taught as an adjunct professor of law at the University of British Columbia and as an instructor at Simon Fraser University. She was recognized with the King’s Counsel (KC) designation for exceptional contributions to the legal profession in B.C. in 2023.
Her commitment to building a more equal world is inspired by her roles as a mother, an aunt, a daughter and a sister.