Date: Wednesday, July 15 at 9:30 AM PDT
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Cost: Suggested donation $10 US.
While we provide an option to attend this webinar for free, as a nonprofit we depend on donations and your contribution is greatly appreciated!
About the Book
With stunning lyricism, Gajarah tells the story of a fearless woman torn between two worlds—Pakistan and Canada—whose life is upended by sexual violence.
Emahn is big haired, mischievous, and larger than life. Born in the Arabian Gulf, she spends extended summers with her grandparents, aunties, and cousins on the rooftops of Lahore. But tucked away beneath her spirited exterior, Emahn carries the weight of childhood trauma. When she marries and moves to Canada, she quickly learns the art of navigating multiple realities and compartmentalizing memories of the world she left behind, even as she clings to the stories of her home. She is resilient; she is driven; she is unbreakable. Almost.
When tragedy strikes, Emahn must draw upon the deepest wells of her ancestral strength to survive, even if it means revisiting her gutting past. Braided together with prose, poetry, and mythical parables, Gajarah confronts the realities of forgiveness and justice, and asks what it means to belong to a land that so forcefully pushes one away.
About the Author: Somia Sadiq
A Keeper of Stories
Somia is a space-maker for more women of colour to assume leadership roles, and a tenacious boundary-pusher advancing peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts across the globe. She believes stories have the power to advance diplomacy, break barriers, and promote healing. With ancestral roots in post-colonial Punjab and Kashmir, Somia brings a strong drive to decolonize our ways of thinking, knowing, and being.
Bridging Divides, Transforming Conflicts: A Visionary Leader in Peacebuilding
With an inherent drive to decolonize systems, Somia has always sought to inspire and uplift young leaders, particularly those from traditionally marginalized and minority populations. Somia aims to foster workplaces and societies that embody principles of humility, respect, and reciprocity.
Somia is the founder of Narratives Inc., an award-winning Planning and Design firm based in Winnipeg. She also founded Kahanee, a non-profit in Canada dedicated to amplifying stories and promoting peacebuilding through storytelling, and Ravayat, a welfare organization based in Pakistan that spotlights ancestral community-based conflict transformation systems.
About the Facilitator: Anum Mulla
Anum is the Global Youth Strategist for the Charter for Compassion, an empathy and compassion education facilitator, and a writer. With roots in India, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Canada, her work is shaped by a deep attentiveness to the fluid interrelation of cultures, identities, and worldviews. She is a committed advocate for social justice and systemic reform, grounded in the belief that empathy and compassion operate as fundamental forces that bind our shared humanity.
Anum serves on the Board of Trustees for the Charter for Compassion, where she focuses on expanding engagement in compassionate action worldwide. She is a facilitator of multiple compassion based education programs including Compassionate Integrity Training, Cognitively Based Compassion Training, Social, Emotional & Ethical Learning, and Crossing Borders Education. She works closely with young people across diverse global contexts designing programs that translate compassion as a force for justice and social transformation.
