Dear AHA Foundation Supporter,

As October is the month of the International Day of the Girl Child, we were proud to stand with so many of you who voiced their support for girls’ rights during this month’s events in New York and Washington, D.C., including a D.C. walk to end female genital mutilation.

AHA Foundation Senior Director, and Florida resident, Amanda Parker, traveled to Tallahassee to advocate for state legislation that will ban child marriage, with no exceptions. Amanda’s heartfelt op-ed, “Worse Than Weinstein is the Exploitation of Florida Girls” is a must read especially if you are not familiar with the prevalence of child marriage in the U.S.

Our first feature this month is an interview with a playwright, Natalie Menna. Natalie wrote the play Committed, a historical fiction of the last two days of Theo Van Gogh’s life. Theo was a friend of mine. A filmmaker by profession, we collaborated on the film Submission. This film, particularly its message, was the reason for Theo’s murder and further threats to my life. In this interview, Natalie discusses why she was compelled to write the play and what she hopes the audience will take away from it.

Representative Trott from Michigan wants to safeguard American girls from female genital mutilation (FGM). This is why he, along with Representative Maloney, is sponsoring the SAFE Act, which will strengthen the penalty for FGM from five to 15 years imprisonment. Representative Trott details his motivations behind proposing this legislation in his interview here.

Our third feature this month is an interview with William & Mary Law Professor, Vivian Hamilton. Professor Hamilton has done extensive research surrounding the issue of child marriage and is the author of one of the renowned publications on the dangers of child marriage in the United States. In this interview, Professor Hamilton discusses her research surrounding child marriage and the pending legislation in Florida.

Thank you for your continued support,

Founder, AHA Foundation

P.S. Our 2016 Annual Report is now available on our website. Read about victories against oppression you made possible and why our fight must continue.