Join us for a special fundraiser to aid Afghan women artists relocating to Massachusetts. Homeira Qaderi will talk about her book “Dancing in the Mosque”, along with two new incredible Afghan artist residents of Wellfleet.

Discussion with the artists moderated by Lady Helena Kennedy.

Cash bar & complimentary light food provided.

This event is co-presented by AOK, whose proceeds will go to these three women currently in the midst of re-stating their lives in Massachusetts. In addition to your ticket purchase, please consider a donation of any amount to support these incredible women aokarts.org/kathys-birthday-fundraiser/

Homeira Qaderi is an Afghan writer, activist, and educator. She has written seven books, including a collection of short stories and her acclaimed novel Noqra: The Daughter of Kabul River (Rozgar Publishers, 2009). Before leaving Afghanistan, Qaderi taught at Gharjistan University, in Kabul.

Qaderi received her Ph.D. in Persian literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, in India. As a life-long activist and a staunch defender of women's rights, Homeira Qaderi was awarded the Malalai Medal—Afghanistan’s highest civilian honor. She was a writer in residence at the University of Iowa in 2015. Her first book in English translation, Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother’s Letter to Her Son (Harper, 2020), was excerpted by the New York Times and chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best nonfiction books of 2020.
Now at Radcliffe, Qaderi is writing a novel, inspired largely by her own experiences, with a working title Tell Me Everything.

Helena Kennedy is one of Britain's most distinguished lawyers. She has spent her professional life giving voice to those who have least power within the system, championing civil liberties and promoting human rights. She has used many public platforms – including the House of Lords, to which she was elevated in 1997 – to argue for social justice. She has also written and broadcast on a wide range of issues, from medical negligence to terrorism to the rights of women and children.

About AOKARTS
AOK increases equity and opportunity for emerging artists by providing the community, resources and support they need to succeed in life and meet their creative goals

A word from AOK about the effort to support women artists from Afghanistan:

The US invaded Afghanistan in response to 9/11, which Afghanistan had nothing to do with. This 13-year Afghanistan War crippled the country, and is the longest war ever fought by the United States and the sudden withdrawal in December left the country in chaos.

In less than a year, the Taliban have decimated the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. They have violated women’s rights to education, work, and free movement; detained women and girls for infractions of the Taliban’s discriminatory rules; and contributed to a surge in the rates of child, early and forced marriage.