Welcome To Zasha

She is the glue that holds the community together.

Whether it is organising a jashan in Auckland, New Zealand, hosting a gambhar, a humbandagi on zoom every Monday, helping students and young couples find rentals/tenants, getting documents signed, making funeral arrangements, there is one person who comes to mind, Benifer Irani.

If you don’t have the answer to any of life’s existential problems, you ask Benifer. She’ll try and find a way out.

A cost accountant by profession, Benifer’s gregarious spirit is infectious. But behind the fun-loving exterior is a hardworking and diligent community worker, Justice of Peace and Marriage Celebrant who lives up to the Zarathusti tenets of good deeds as she volunteers for more organizations than you can count on your fingers.   

Born and bred in Mumbai, this East Auckland mover and shaker moved to New Zealand in 1997. She has worked with NZ Local Government agencies, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, as a finance executive, management accountant and financial analyst. Currently she is the chief financial officer for BioCell Corporation Limited, an NZ company manufacturing vaccines for animal health, bio fertilisers for plants. BioCell is now working on research and development for manufacturing vaccines for Covid-19. 

Benifer is well versed with New Zealand Sign language, is familiar with Maori language and is currently learning the Avestan and Farsi languages. As an active Zoroastrian Kiw-Indian, Benifer publishes BawaZ United quarterly e-newsletter, a voice of Zoroastrians in New Zealand and runs a Humbandagi group every Monday evening. She is keen to start a bawa theatre group. But above all Benifer is  passionate about empowering humanity with good thoughts, good words and good deeds. “I want to share love and happiness that comes from within”, she says.