Tahirih Justice Center
The Tahirih Justice Center, founded in 1997, seeks to enable women and girls fleeing gender-based violence to access justice through legal services, social service case management, and education. Tahirih has helped over 11,000 women and girls who have been victims of violence since 1997.
Tahirih provides legal representation to women and girls seeking protection under immigration law from gender-based violence -- such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, torture, rape, trafficking, and domestic violence. Tahirih was involved in over 900 separate legal matters in 2009.
THE CASE
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A grant award was made to Tahirih for the Matter of MA, a case aimed at establishing domestic violence against women in a woman’s home country as a basis for obtaining asylum under United States immigration law. The individual involved in this case was brutalized in her home country and fled after the local courts there refused to intercede. The individual fled to the United States and her request for asylum was denied. Her case is now pending in the Bureau of Immigration Appeals.
CASE UPDATES SINCE GRANT YEAR
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The result of their grant funding was in successfully pursuing the case of Maria (a pseudonym), an immigrant woman and survivor of severe domestic violence. Matter of MA
The fact pattern in Maria’s case lent itself to a decisive victory. With the support of the Foundation, Tahirih invested significant resources in preparing and supporting Maria’s case which set legal precedent applicable nation-wide concerning survivors of domestic violence seeking asylum.
GRANT AMOUNT
$2,500 (2011)
“…the Foundation’s generosity was vital in enabling Tahirih to serve vulnerable immigrant women and girls fleeing violence,”
— Archi Pyati, Chief of Policy and Communications