Events

On October 4^th, the AHA Foundation hosted its Second Annual Conference on Honor Violence and Forced Marriage at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.  Last year’s groundbreaking conference was the first of its kind in the United States. Building upon last year’s success, the 2012 Conference featured an impressive lineup of speakers addressing a room full of NYPD, FBI, criminal justice practitioners, domestic violence shelters and numerous other NGOs.

Opening the conference, founder of the AHA Foundation and award-winning humanitarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali spoke about the unique circumstances of women in honor-based cultures, drawing upon her own experiences growing up in Africa and the Middle East.  Ayaan gave the attendees specific tips and best practices for handling cases of honor violence and forced marriage.  She also spoke about the challenges facing service providers and law enforcement officials who encounter these issues, and the urgent need to address them in the United States.

Nazir Afzal OBE, Director of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Services, spoke about honor crimes and forced marriage in the UK, explaining to the audience that one of the main lessons to take away was the need to “park their prejudices at the door” and “believe the victim.”  Nazir discussed real life cases of honor violence and forced marriage in the UK to illustrate the unifying characteristics of these crimes.  He also discussed the recent move to criminalize forced marriage in the UK, and the political backlash that ensued.  Nazir closed his remarks by pointing out the importance of each audience member in helping to prevent these crimes and support the victims.

Our next speaker, Detective Chris Boughey, was presented with the first AHA Foundation Honour Award, for embodying the belief that women everywhere, of all cultures, merit access to education and basic human rights.  Detective Boughey has been a huge asset to the AHA Foundation in our work protecting women and girls who come to us seeking help escaping honor violence and forced marriage.  Detective Boughey was the lead investigator in the honor killing of Noor Almaleki.  Noor, a 20-year-old woman from Peoria, Arizona, was murdered by her father for being “too Western” and for refusing a forced marriage to her cousin in Iraq.  During his address to our audience, Detective Boughey reviewed specifics of the Almaleki investigation, putting the details in context with typical investigations, and discussed the aftermath of the case.

Heather Heiman, Senior Policy Attorney for the Tahirih Justice Center, spoke about Taharih‘s forced marriage initiative, including the direct services they provide to victims and a national survey they conducted which found as many as 3,000 cases of forced marriage in the U.S. in the two years preceding the survey.  Heather discussed with the audience what she has learned through her own work with victims of forced marriage and the nuances that are sometimes present in these particular cases.  In addition, she pointed out legal remedies that she has used when handling difficult cases, such as the case of a minor who was being forced to marry.

Our final speaker was Professor Ric Curtis who is heading up the AHA Foundation’s research projects on honor killings in the U.S. and forced marriage and FGM in New York City.  Professor Curtis showed a short video of interview clips done with CUNY students discussing the forced marriages they have personally encountered in their lives and the attitudes their communities have towards marriage.

To close the conference, our speakers were joined by Archana Pyati, Deputy Director of the Immigration Intervention Project at Sanctuary for Families, in a panel discussion led by Professor Curtis.  This session reviewed what the panel members believed was the most important take away from the day, their feelings on the biggest obstacles faced by those working to help victims, and questions about what happens to victims after they have been brought into the system.

The AHA Foundation is profoundly grateful to all the speakers whose expertise made this conference such a success.  We know that, thanks to the information provided to our audience, this will be a day that saves lives.

• AHA Conference Transcript (PDF)
• Lecture: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Founder of the AHA Foundation (Video)
• Lecture: Nazir Afzal OBE, Director of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (Video)
• Lecture: Detective Chris Boughey (Video)
• Lecture: Heather Heiman, Senior Policy Attorney, The Tahirih Justice Center (Video)
• Panel Discussion (Video)

The AHA Foundation, founded by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, is proud to host its second annual symposium on honor violence and forced marriage on October 4^th, 2012, in New York City.

The Conference will bring together leading criminal justice professionals, first responders and domestic violence shelter staff members to focus on the emerging problems of honor violence and forced marriage in the United States.  Conference speakers will provide information on how to identify cases, best practices for investigating and prosecuting cases of honor violence and honor killings, as well as guidance on how to protect potential victims. In addition, there will be a discussion on the recent criminalization of forced marriage in the United Kingdom.

The need for this Conference is illustrated by a recent incident in the United States.  In October 2009, Faleh Almaleki murdered his 20-year-old daughter, Noor, by running her down with his vehicle because he believed that she had shamed the family by becoming too Western and refusing to marry a man he had selected for her in Iraq.  In 2011, Faleh became the first person convicted of murder in the United States by a prosecutor using an honor violence theory.

Last year, the AHA Foundation Conference on Honor Violence and Forced Marriage was groundbreaking as the first of its kind in the United States. Building upon last year’s success, the 2012 Conference features an impressive lineup of speakers including:

• Ayaan Hirsi Ali, award-winning humanitarian and leading activist in women’s rights
• Nazir Afzal OBE, Crown Prosecution Service Director, London
• Detective Chris Boughey, lead investigator in the Noor Almaleki honor killing
• Heather Heiman, Senior Public Policy Attorney at the Tahirih Justice Center

Also at this year’s conference, Ric Curtis, Professor and Chair of the Anthropology Department at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, will present the latest study findings highlighting the incidence of honor violence and forced marriage. The study, commissioned by the AHA Foundation, seeks to quantify the occurrence of honor violence in the United States and forced marriage in New York City, as no government agency currently tracks these statistics. Armed with the results of this study, the Foundation will be in a much stronger position to persuade government leaders to direct attention and resources to these issues.

About the AHA Foundation:

In response to ongoing abuses of women’s rights in the name of religion and culture, activist and academic Ayaan Hirsi Ali and her supporters established the AHA Foundation in 2007 as a charitable organization to help protect and defend the rights of women in the United States from oppression justified by religion and culture. The AHA Foundation is the only organization in the United States dedicated to understanding the scope and impact of honor violence, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation (FGM), and organizing effective intervention, support, enforcement, legislation, public awareness, and diplomatic initiatives to protect the victims of these crimes.

The AHA Foundation works to protect and reinforce the basic rights and freedoms of women and girls, including security and control of their own bodies, access to an education, the ability to work outside the home and control their own income, freedom of expression and association, and the myriad other basic civil rights defined under the laws of Western democracies and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Foundation is opposed to the adoption of dual legal systems to adjudicate family disputes in religious families and supports the separation of all religions and the State.

Chaz Akoshile, Joint Head of the UK's Forced Marriage Unit; Jasvinder Sanghera, founder of Karma Nirvana and Sabatina James, founder of Sabatina EV attend the AHA Foundation's International Women's Day and HONOUR Launch cocktail reception.

On Thursday, March 8, 2012, the AHA Foundation held a cocktail reception in New York City to celebrate International Women’s Day and launch our new HONOUR products.  To date, we have an HONOUR tote bag, tie, pink and white candles.

 
The cocktail reception was a major success, particularly in the caliber of guests who attended.  In addition to friends and supporters, we were thrilled to host Jasvinder Sanghera, founder of Karma Nirvana; Chaz Akoshile, Joint Head of the UK’s Forced Marriage Unit; Phyllis Chesler, honor violence scholar; and Sabatina James, forced marriage survivor and founder of Sabatina EV.

The U.S. State Department presents the AHA Foundation with a Certificate of Appreciation for assistance in combating the forced marriage of U.S. citizens.

We are pleased to announce that on November 17th, the AHA Foundation was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. State Department for our support and guidance in assisting victims of forced marriage.  The certificate was presented following a roundtable on forced marriage held by the State Department in Washington, DC.  In attendance from the AHA Foundation team were the Executive Director, the Research Director and the Legislative Counsel.

On October 13th, 2011, the Executive Director and Communications Director of the AHA Foundation attended Forced Marriage in the United States, a conference in Utica, NY on identifying cases of forced marriage, supporting victims and the collaborative community response necessary to address this abuse.  The conference was hosted by the Oneida County Domestic and Sexual Violence Coalition.

Featured speakers included:

• Vidya Sri, Founder of Gangashakti.org and forced marriage survivor
• Debjani Roy, Program & Development Manager/Advocate of Manavi
• Yasmeen Hamza, LMSW, Director or Preventative and Domestic Violence Services of The Arab-American Family Support Center
• Jeanne Smoot, ESQ., Director of Public Policy of Tahirih Justice Center
• Julia Alanen, ESQ., Director/Co-Founder of Global Justice Initiative, Inc.

On June 6th, 2011, the AHA Foundation held the first ever conference on honor violence and forced marriage in the United States. By all accounts, it was a huge success and a day we know will save lives!

Ayaan addressed an audience full of NYPD, FBI, criminal justice practitioners, domestic violence shelters and service providers on Honor Violence 101. She spoke about the unique circumstances facing Muslim women and girls in an honor-based culture, the challenges facing law enforcement when confronting these cases, and the differences between honor violence and traditional Western domestic violence. She reviewed six cases of honor violence from Queens to illustrate that these crimes are happening on a local scale.

Nazir Afzal OBE, Director of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service

Our next keynote speaker was Nazir Afzal OBE, Director of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service. He discussed the UK’s response to honor crime, forced marriage and female genital mutilation. During his lecture, he emphasized the need for everyone to believe victims who seek their help. When speaking of forced marriage, he pointed out that the forced marriage is often just the beginning of the abuse. In investigating and prosecuting honor killings, he said they should be handled like organized crime as often the entire family is involved. Finally, he spoke of the importance of educating everyone, starting with young children, on human rights, in order to stop the pattern of violence.

Laura Reckart, lead prosecutor in Arizona v. Almaleki

Following Nazir, we were extremely fortunate to be joined by Laura Reckart, lead prosecutor in Arizona v. Almaleki, the first case in the U.S. where an honor violence theory was successfully used to obtain a conviction of a father who murdered his daughter, along with Detective Chris Boughey, who led the investigation into the murder. They spoke in detail about the investigation, the challenges faced and the trial, including their disappointment with the verdict. Their belief is that Almaleki should have been convicted of first-degree murder rather than the lesser charge of second-degree murder as they clearly proved premeditation.

Sabatina James, founder of Sabatina EV

Sabatina James, founder of Sabatina EV, an award-winning German foundation set up to protect Muslim women from violence and oppression, and a victim of forced marriage, told her story, including problems she encountered when seeking help from shelters, police and government agencies. She discussed the fact that her father lied to social workers to ensure her return home and emphasized that people who immigrate to the U.S. do not leave their cultures at the airport.

Professor Ric Curtis of John Jay College of Criminal Justice

We were all gratified when, during a panel discussion led by Professor Ric Curtis of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, one attendee stood up to say that she would do her job at the DA’s office differently the next day, thanks to information and awareness she gained at the conference.

• Keynote Lecture: Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Video)
• Keynote Lecture: Nazir Afzal (Video)
• Keynote Lecture: Reckart, Boughey (Video)
• Keynote Lecture: Ayaan Hirsi Ali (PDF)
• Keynote Lecture: Nazir Afzal (PDF)
• Keynote Lecture: Reckart Boughey (PDF)
• AHA Conference Transcript (PDF)
• Dan Rather Reports “Blood in the Name of Honor”

The Executive Director of the AHA Foundation took a trip across the pond to attend “Hidden in Plain Sight,” a conference hosted by Basildon Women’s Aid on honor-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.  The conference focused the victims of these crimes as well as the UK’s response. The UK is a model for how the US should handle these cases.  At the conference, the head of the UK’s Forced Marriage Unit spoke about their Forced Marriage Hotline and how effective it has been in rescuing girls.  While there, she was able to personally meet with one of the keynote speakers for the AHA Foundation Honor Violence Symposium, Nazir Afzal OBE, Director of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.  She also came back with several great ideas for projects and programming the AHA Foundation will be able to implement to further the mission of protecting the rights of girls and women in the West.

During her visit to Occidental College, Ayaan had the pleasure of meeting the students of Phi Beta Kappa for lunch. In her lecture to undergraduates later that evening, Ayaan discussed her intellectual growth from “credulity” through “curiosity” to “critical thinking.” Her take on leadership pushed the audience to make a positive difference in their futures.

On April 5, 2011, Ayaan spoke to a full auditorium of Johns Hopkins students and Baltimore residents, on the topic “Islam and the West.” She told the stories of Nujood Ali, a 10 year-old Yemeni girl who recently wrote a memoir of her forced marriage and subsequent fight for divorce as well as Bibi Aisha, a Pakistani woman whose husband and brother-in-law cut off her nose and ears in punishment for soiling the family’s honor. These stories were used to exemplify the clash of civilizations and the need to let go of moral relativism.

The Chairman of the Board and the Communications Director joined Ayaan for her visit to Baltimore and discussed strategy for college outreach with the students of the Foreign Affairs Symposium.

Debate: Is Europe Stigmatizing the Veil

The women of the AHA Foundation were truly inspired by and honored to attend this year’s Women in the World Summit hosted by The Daily Beast. Ayaan was joined at the summit by both the Executive Director and Communications Director of the foundation.

Marc Bryan-Brown for The Daily Beast

In a timely and heated debate, Ayaan discussed with Isobel Coleman of the Council on Foreign Relations and Liesl Gerntholz of Human Rights Watch, the French law banning the burqa. Ayaan argued that a law’s job is to protect citizens, and that the result of the ban on veils is the protection of women from subjugation by their families. Additionally, she welcomed the controversy as a gateway to conversations about honor violence and other rights abuses suffered in the West in the name of religion.

In addition to Ayaan’s debate and many other engaging panels, the ladies of the AHA Foundation enjoyed listening to Hillary Clinton, who spoke about the full emancipation and equality of women, calling it history’s “unfinished business.”