There is much in the news about breaking the glass ceiling of prejudice in the fight for equality of the sexes. Less known are the spiritual underpinnings of this movement and its history in the heart of Islam. What was the reaction in the Middle East to the first stirrings of emancipation? What events were happening there at the time of the emergence of the first Western suffragettes? What can we learn from the tragic story of Tahirih in our quest to build a better world?
This subject will be the first in the new, Building the Future series of public talks. It will be on Saturday, August 27th. Visiting speaker Nava Bastani Sarracino will present the story of Tahirih, one of the first women to demand emancipation and announce a new era in women’s rights, a topic of enduring relevance to our times.
The presentation will take place in the auditorium at the Cook St. Activity Centre, 380 Cook St, Victoria. (Entrance off parking lot), followed by Q&A and refreshments. It will be a privilege to have Nava available for discussion in this informal setting. Doors open at 6:40 p.m; the talk will begin at 7 p.m. Parking is limited so guests are requested to arrive in time to find street parking if necessary, and be seated.
With its skillful combining of storytelling and theatre, “Tahirih” has been enthusiastically received by many communities around the world. Nava Sarracino is an actress and storyteller of Iranian Bahá’í heritage, who’s made her home in Anchorage, Alaska. She will give a 30 minute talk followed by a 30 minute dramatic presentation on “Tahirih”, the brilliant Iranian poet who was the first woman in the Middle East to give her life for women’s rights.
Nava has been hailed as a tour-de-force for her one-woman performance of “The Syringa Tree”. Her current piece, “The Child Behind the Eyes”, is being featured at this year’s Intrepid Theatre Festival, just before and after her presentation on August 27th.
Sheila Flood practices the Bahá'í Faith and is Secretary of the Victoria Multifaith Society.
You can read more articles from our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, HERE
