Increase of domestic violence in Asian Families of Canada
Toronto Seminar organized by
FAMILY OF THE HEART and REHMA FOUNDATION.
Under the auspices of Family of
the heart and Rehma Foundation a Seminar was arranged on March
23rd at the University of Toronto Hall. The topic of the
Seminar was ' Domestic violence in South Asian community'.
Mr. Najib Kazmi of FOTH opened
the proceedings and introduced Family of the heart to the
audience. He then asked Talat Moinuddin to introduce Rehma
Foundation. The program was moderated by Dr. Khalid Sohail an
eminent Psychologist of Toronto.
Dr. Khalid called the experts
to the stage and introduced each panel member, which included
Najma Iqbal of Muslim community center, Huma Nasir a Social
worker, Anuja Pathun of PAR group and Arif Raza a legal
expert.
The Seminar dealt with the
rising trend of domestic violence among the South Asian
community of Canada. A documentary, 'Breaking the cycle' ,
developed in respect of the theme was shown to acquaint the
audience with the topic.
After a break for refreshment
the forum was opened for discussion and questions. The
audience showed great appreciation of the topic and came forth
with animated participation and pointed questions addressed to
the panelists.
The success of the Seminar was
evident from the fact that not only was it attended from
people of Asian descent including Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus but a
number of Canadians were present and showed much enthusiastic
participation.
The participants showed
considerable concern in the increasing trend of family
breakups and splitting and were very appreciative that such
Seminars should be hosted to keep the forum open for sharing
ideas and searching means to overcome the situation. There was
stress for the need to increase awareness of the problem at
various levels of the society eg. the mosque, social
organizations, the media and community centers etc. It was
noted that more awareness is needed at the individual level to
seek help of Councilors, Medical experts and Legal advisers,
etc., and that such programs will go a long way in promoting
the knowledge and idea about it.
At the end Dr. Khalid Shail
paid a richly deserved thanks to the organizers of the event
and said it would not have been possible without the
commendable efforts of Amra Ahmed and Salahuddin Pervaiz of
the Family of the Heart.
