International Women's Day 2008 was held March 17, 2008 at The Harry Remis Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The program included an introduction and talk by Malalai Joya and then a screening of Beyond Belief, a film by Beth Murphy, and then a cocktail reception in the Galleria.

Many thanks to all who attended and supported this worthwhile event.


View and print brochure (PDF 190kb)

Malalai Joya
The Bravest Woman in Afghanistan

They will kill me but they will not kill my voice,
because it will be the voice of all Afghan women.
You can cut the flower, but you cannot stop the
coming of spring. – malalai joya

Malalai Joya is a politician and activist who is a tireless defender of human rights and the most powerful voice for Afghan women today. As Afghanistan’s youngest and most out-spoken parliamentarian, Joya is revered by the disenfranchised and despised by fundamentalist warlords, many of whom are her colleagues in parliament. For criticizing them, Joya was suspended from
parliament in May 2007 for three years. Today, numerous death threats and assassination attempts have forced her underground, but she is unwavering in her mission to bring true democracy to her country. She is critical of military intervention in Afghanistan, and has exposed the lack of real progress for women since the fall of the Taliban. As long as Afghan women are brutalized, denied education and access to constitutional law, she refuses to remain silent: “Never again will I whisper in the shadows of intimidation. I am but a symbol of my people’s struggle and a servant to their cause. And if I were killed for what I believe in, then let my blood be the beacon for emancipation and my words a revolutionary paradigm for generations to come.” For her efforts for peace, women’s rights and democracy, she is the winner of the 2008 International Human Rights Film Award. For more information on Malalai Joya please visit www.malalaijoya.com

Beyond Belief
Beyond Belief is a powerful and stirring documentary by award-winning filmmaker Beth Murphy. The film follows two women who are living the American dream in Boston’s suburbs until their husbands are killed by terrorists. Their grief becomes the inspiration for a transformational journey to Afghanistan where they empower Afghan widows whose lives have been ravaged by decades of war, poverty and oppression – the roots of the terrorism that affect them all. For more information on Beth Murphy and Beyond Belief, please visit www.principlepictures.com.