Two women set to speak Friday in Council Bluffs will offer listeners a glimpse of how poorly women are treated in some Middle Eastern countries.
Aynaz Anni Cyrus and Farrah Prudence will speak during “The Real War on Women” from noon to 3 p.m. Friday at Broadway United Methodist Church at First Street and Broadway. The event is hosted by the Omaha-based Global Faith Institute, whose last event in southwest Iowa on Islam, held in September in Oakland, attracted criticism and protesters.
Cyrus is an American-Iranian human rights activities and journalist, according to a flyer from the Institute. She was a child bride in her home country of Iran and was abused and imprisoned as a teen. She escaped to America and now advocates for women and girls suffering under Sharia (Islamic law). She speaks out against such practices as child bride marriage, female genital mutilation, honor killings (done when someone does not adhere to their family’s will, such as marrying and staying married to the man chosen by the family) and the use of Sharia law to justify beatings and rape, the Institute said.
Prudence is a human rights advocate, linguist, writer and expert on Middle Eastern culture and Islamic ideology, according the Global Faith Institute. She lived in the Mideast for more than 10 years and worked with the U.S. military for more than a year in Iraq. She was a victim of domestic abuse, rape and sexual assault and still lives under the threat of honor killing because of the fatwa (religious decree) on her life. She has dedicated her life to raising awareness about the issues, according to the institute.
Originally posted on The Daily Nonpareil:
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/other/the-real-war-on-women-set-for-friday/article_8974b534-c4ec-11e7-b98e-470aa113133d.html