Thursday, November 21, 2002

Women & Peace:

Women & Peace: An International Conversation

Including a West Coast Screening of the Preview of "Escape from Taliban"

Manisha Koirala

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for India and Nepal

Manisha Koirala, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for India and Nepal and star of "Escape from Taliban" will discuss this upcoming film and the challenges to women in conflict.

Ms. Koirala, whose family is from Nepal and has been active in the government, is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador for India and Nepal. Ms. Koirala is greatly admired for her work as an actress and as an advocate for peace and justice for her region of the world and for women. She is currently in the United States to talk not only about the new film, but also to speak about the role of women in Nepal and India and the challenges she sees for women in current international tensions. After showing the preview of “Escape from Taliban” and being a guest speaker at Harvard, MIT, NYU, and the University of Chicago, Ms. Koirala will honor the University of San Diego and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice by discussing her work both as an actress and as a goodwill ambassador.

Ms. Manisha Koirala will talk about her new film “Escape from Taliban.” It is a true story based on a three volume best seller entitled Kabuliwala’s Bengali Wife by Sushmita Banerjee. This is the story of an Indian woman who marries an Afghan man and gets caught in the middle of the Taliban’s increasing oppression of women. Afghan women help her to escape, at great risk to themselves.