Series of hearings begins

Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced that on Wednesday, July 29 the Committee will convene a hearing to examine ISIS’s violence against women.  The hearing, entitled “Women Under ISIS Rule: From Brutality to Recruitment,” will begin at 10 a.m.  This hearing is the first in a series the Committee will hold to examine the challenges facing women and girls around the globe.

Chairman Royce on the hearing: “From widespread sexual violence to trafficking to forced marriage, ISIS’s brutality against women and girls is almost without parallel. But while it may appear indiscriminate, ISIS’s violence against women is calculated and designed to further its goal of establishing an ‘Islamic State.’  In order to better understand how to fight this vicious terrorist group, this hearing will examine ISIS’s violence against women and girls, along with its increasing efforts to recruit female members to join its ranks.”

What:
Hearing: Women Under ISIS Rule: From Brutality to Recruitment

When:
10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29

Where:
2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Witnesses:
Ms. Sasha Havlicek
Chief Executive Officer
Institute for Strategic Dialogue

Ariel Ahram, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs                                  

Mr. Edward Watts
Director and Producer
Escaping ISIS

Kathleen Kuehnast, Ph.D.
Director
Gender and Peacebuilding
Center for Governance, Law and Society
United States Institute of Peace

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