SGA sponsors donation drive for immigrant survivors of violence
The Student Government Association (SGA) is hosting a donation drive through Nov. 11 at 12 p.m. All donations benefit the Táhirih Justice Center, a national non-profit organization that protects immigrant women and girls seeking asylum from violence and abuse.
Donations that are being accepted include gently used clothes and blankets, children’s books, stuffed animals and shoes. The donations will help keep women and children warm during the cold winter months and serve as holiday gifts.
Drop-offs are accepted in the SGA office, SSCB 1204, located in the Student Lounge or at the Táhirih Justice Center in Houston, located at 1717 St. James Place, Suite 450. Donations are also accepted on the Táhirih Justice Center website.
“All the donations collected will be compiled and presented at Táhirih’s annual Client Holiday party,” said Hiba Loya, vice president of administration for SGA. “This event honors the brave survivors Táhirih has helped over the years. The clients will be able to pick items from the donation piles. These items will serve as holiday gifts, warm clothing for the winter, and more.”
The Táhirih Justice Center is named after Táhirih, a prominent figure in Middle Eastern culture who was born in Persia in 1814. She stood for women’s rights during a time when women were kept illiterate and out of the public’s eye. Táhirih was known for her theological beliefs, her ability to assemble and inspire women to fight against oppression and her influence as one of the earliest followers of the Bahá’í faith.
One particular act of defiance included the appearance of an unveiled Táhirih before an assemblage of men. Her speech advocating the rejection of old societal norms was so shocking, that one man stood up in the audience and slit his own throat at the sight of her face.
Táhirih was executed at 38 for her beliefs. Shortly after being informed of plans to execute her, she dressed in bridal attire. In the middle of the night, she was taken to a nearby garden and strangled to death with her own veil. Her last words were, “You can kill me as soon as you like, but you will never stop the emancipation of women.” Her body was then thrown into a well with stones thrown upon it.
In honor of Táhirih and what she stood for, the first Táhirih Justice Center opened June 24, 1997, founded by Layli Miller-Muro. Its first case was Fauziya Kassindja who at the age of 17, a victim of forced marriage and female genital mutilation, fled her country seeking asylum in the United States.
She spent 17 months in detention before receiving representation from Miller-Muro. Miller-Muro brought the case to the highest immigration court in the United States. The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals granted Fauziya asylum. This case established gender-based persecution as grounds for asylum.
Táhirih Justice Center has expanded since 1997 with five offices across the nation including one in Houston, the fifth-largest U.S. destination for immigrants. Since it first opened, the Táhirih Justice Center has answered the pleas for help of more than 27,000 women and girls.
The centers, with a staff of 100 employees, recruited 2,569 professionals from 474 law firms into their Pro Bono Network in 2018 alone. Last year, these legal services were provided to 3,492 immigrant women and girls.
Táhirih Justice Center’s website includes success stories of women and girls who were once victims of domestic violence, forced marriage, rape, human trafficking, torture, honor crimes, and female genital mutilation. These women and girls fled their countries in search of asylum and turned to Táhirih Justice Center for help.
Ashlyn Vaughn, vice president of outreach and communication, said Táhirih’s story is still relevant today as “1 in 3 women around the world are subjected to gender-based violence at some point in their life.”
With October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Vaughn hopes to, “show women who are fighting against domestic violence that they are supported by an entire community.”
For more information about the donation drive, contact SGA at 281-283-2556.
