Events Calendar

To celebrate March 8 International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month of March, the Asian Studies Program at the University of Scranton--in partnership with Education for Justice, the Department of Latin American and Women’s Studies, and the Cross Cultural Centers (Multicultural & Jane Kopas Women's Centers)--invite the campus community and the greater Northeastern Pennsylvania community to a screening of "He Named Me Malala."

This film is an intimate portrait of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai (born in 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan) who was severely wounded when Taliban gunmen opened fire on her and her friends' school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old teenager, who had been targeted for speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in her region of Swat Valley in Pakistan, was shot in the head, sparking international media outrage. She miraculously survived. An educational activist in Pakistan, Yousafzai has since emerged as a leading campaigner for the rights of children and for girls’ education globally. In December 2014, she became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The film is directed by acclaimed documentary film maker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman). (Content credit: https://www.malala.org)

The screening will take place on March 8 (Tuesday) at 7 pm, DeNaples Center, Room 401 (The Ann and Leo Moskovitz Theater) and will be followed by a panel discussion led by two expert speakers, Dr. Riaz Hussain of the University of Scranton and Dr. Annina Mirza of Keystone College.

Dr, Riaz Hussain is an associate professor of finance at The University of Scranton. He received his BS from Forman College, Pakistan, and his MS from University of Punjab, Pakistan. He earned his doctoral degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Lehigh University. As imam of the Campus Mosque, Dr. Hussain is the spiritual leader of about 150 families in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, including many of the University’s internationals students.

Dr. Annina Maheen Mirza is an instructor at Keystone College. She has a post master’s degree (Master of Philosophy in Psychology) from Pakistan and a Ph.D. in Human Development from Marywood University. She was born and raised in Pakistan. She moved to the United States of America nineteen years ago and now lives with her husband Dr. Wasique Mirza and her three children in Clarks Summit.

A light reception will immediately follow after the panel discussion. Audiences will also learn about ways they can support the initiatives of the Malala Fund for girls’ education and the rights of children worldwide.

“He Named Me Malala” is part one of a three-part film series in the spring 2016 under the theme Women in Asia: Traditions, Transformation, and Modernization. The other two films are scheduled for March 29 (Tuesday), 7 PM, a film screening of "Taste of Life (2015)” and Q &A with the award-winning director (Ms.) Yu-Shan Huang, as a part of her US film tour of three stops: The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), New York University, and The University of Scranton. And, on April 19 (Tuesday), 7 PM, a screening of "Seeking Asian Females," a 2012 PBS awarding-winning documentary by Debbie Lum, will be held.  The screening will be followed by a discussion led by Dr. Meghan Ashlin Rich, an expert on race and ethnic relations and sociology of globalization. Dr. Rich is an associate professor of sociology/criminal justice and women’s studies at the University of Scranton.

All screenings are open to the public, free of charge.  For more information, contact Ann A. Pang-White, director of Asian studies, at ann.pang-white@scranton.edu or (570) 941-7643.