Young women to speak out in New Jersey against forced marriage as part of national awareness-raising tour
A group of South Asian artists and advocates, members of Pomegranate Tree Group, have embarked on a six-city tour in partnership with Tahirih Justice Center to address violence in the lives of young women, including forced marriage, gender-based violence, racism, and patriarchy.
Honoring Our Heartbeats: A Tour to End Forced Marriage in the U.S. will bring three events to New Jersey on Dec. 3-4, including a powerful multimedia performance, a forced marriage training workshop for service providers, and an issue briefing about efforts to foster a coordinated, national response to forced marriage in the U.S. The tour is inspired by a comic book, “Heartbeats: The IZZAT Project,” which the young women wrote to celebrate their resiliency in the face of violence in their personal lives.
WHY:
The U.S. government recognizes forced marriage as a violation of human rights, and a 2011 national survey by Tahirih Justice Center identified as many as 3,000 cases encountered across the U.S. in a two-year period. Yet forced marriage remains a hidden and neglected problem in this country. Individuals at risk have few places to turn for help and service providers are not equipped to recognize and respond to cases. Awareness-raising is an important step in ending this human rights violation.
WHEN:
Issue Briefing
12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 3
Sedgwick LLP | One Newark Center | 1085 Raymond Blvd. | 16th Floor | Newark
Multimedia Performance & Forum
6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 3
Institute for Women’s Leadership | Rutgers University | 162 Ryders Lane | New Brunswick
Training Workshop
9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4
Busch Campus Center at Rutgers University | 604 Bartholomew Road | Piscataway
For additional tour information, click here.
