Johns Hopkins Foreign Affairs Symposium

On April 5, 2011, Ayaan spoke to a full auditorium of Johns Hopkins students and Baltimore residents, on the topic “Islam and the West.” She told the stories of Nujood Ali, a 10 year-old Yemeni girl who recently wrote a memoir of her forced marriage and subsequent fight for divorce as well as Bibi Aisha, a Pakistani woman whose husband and brother-in-law cut off her nose and ears in punishment for soiling the family’s honor. These stories were used to exemplify the clash of civilizations and the need to let go of moral relativism.

The Chairman of the Board and the Communications Director joined Ayaan for her visit to Baltimore and discussed strategy for college outreach with the students of the Foreign Affairs Symposium.