Thursday, November 22, 2012
5:30pm until 7:30pm

Facilitating Cross Cultural Dialogue on Forced Marriages and Honour Based Crimes

On Thursday November 22nd, distinguished speakers; Aruna Papp, Baldev Mutta, Raheel Raza, and, Dr Amin Muhammad, will be participating in an interactive panel discussion to raise funds for Dorothy A. Atabong’s film, ‘Sound of Tears’.

About the Event:
A fundraiser facilitating a cross-cultural dialogue on Forced marriages and Honour Based Crimes including how these crimes can be prevented and what supports if any are in place today.

About the Movie:
The “Sound of Tears” film is a story of a young woman who is trapped in a forced marriage and must relinquish a forbidden love as it is a matter of Family Honour.

About Dorothy:
Graduate from the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City, Actress and filmmaker (Mayday, The Line, Degrassi); Canadian Stage Company and Studio 180, 'The Overwhelming – about the Rwandan Genocide; Theatre Awakening’s, In Darfur – about the genocide in Sudan. She is the face in several commercials for the Steven Lewis Foundation – Help Fight Aids in Africa.

About Our Panel Speakers:

Aruna Papp:
Over the past 30 years Aruna has worked as a counsellor with abused women, founded 3 non-profit agencies to help immigrant families and has earned two Masters’ degrees. A Research Associate with Frontier Centre for Public Policy. She also conducts training for front line services providers in the area of honour based violence and ‘risk assessment’. Author of Unworthy Creature: A Punjabi Daughter's Memoir of Honour, Shame and Love.

Baldev Mutta:
He has over 30 years’ experience in the field of social work. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Punjabi Community Health Services (PCHS) in Peel. He has received many community awards for his work on equity, community development, diversity management, and organizational change. He also hosts his own television show, Community ConneXion, which airs every Saturday on Rogers Cable.

Raheel Raza:
She is a consultant for Interfaith and Intercultural diversity, a documentary film maker, freelance journalist and founder of SAMA' (Sacred Arts and Music Alliance). Raheel is the author of Their Jihad…Not My Jihad. She was appointed to The Public Service Committee for Ontario College of Teachers and has spoken at Harvard, Columbia, Canadian School Boards, as well as The United Nations.

Dr Amin Muhammad:
Originally from Pakistan, Dr Muhammad is a Doctor of Psychiatry and has held several professorships, including Vice-Principal at medical colleges in Pakistan, England, and Ireland. An expert on transcultural psychiatry, he is currently a professor at The Memorial University in Newfoundland, and a clinical Psychiatrist at The Ontario Trillium Health Centre. Author of over 100 publications, he also penned the Canadian Federal Government report - Magnitude and Dynamics of “Honour Killing”- The local perspective.

Come join us on Thursday November 22nd at the University of Toronto’s Cumberland House, 33 St George Street.

Doors open at 5:30 pm

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Please contact Farah Ally 647.340.5363 or at Farah.Ally@gmail.com.

Seating requirements is on a first come first serve basis.