Panel of experts will discuss nature and scope of forced marriage in United States and Canada How does forced marriage impact the freedom and safety of women and girls in […]

Tahirih is featured this week in a four-part Al Jazeera America series on forced marriage in the United States.

Women and girls like Najdah and Malala are targeted in the hope that their heroic voices will not be heard.

Trainings equip participants with practical tips, tools, and strategies to identify and protect victims of these human rights abuses threatening the freedom, safety, and welfare of immigrant women and girls across the country.

The two women met for the first time last week at a sleek Georgetown hotel, where they were speakers at a glittering charity dinner. They shook hands and hugged across a vast gulf of culture, geography and faith: one a devout Muslim from West Africa with her hair carefully hidden under a tight scarf, the other a gregarious South Asian in a stylish sari and costume earrings.

Although many Americans may think that phenomena such as forced marriages and so-called “honor killings” exist only overseas, social service agencies, educators, and a growing number of law enforcement personnel know differently.

Tahirih held a training for frontline service providers on identifying and supporting victims of forced marriage—the first training of its kind in the United States on March 2, 2012.