School board sorry for snub of ex-sex slave writer who won a Nobel

THE Toronto District School Board has apologised after its superintendent withdrew its support for a book club event with Nadia Murad, a Nobel Prize winner and former Islamic State sex slave, because of fears that it “would foster Islamaphobia”. Helen Fisher voiced her concerns over Ms Murad’s The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State, saying that her students would not participate in a sit-down event with the author scheduled for February.

The move drew wide criticism, and the board has been forced to clarify that these views are not its official position and that it will be reviewing the books.

Ms Murad’s story details her family being executed and how she was snatched from her home and sold into sexual slavery. She was raped, tortured and exchanged among militants in northern Iraq before escaping.

As well as a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, she is a UN Goodwill Ambassador, and a leading advocate for survivors of genocide and sexual violence.

After Ms Fisher’s claims, Tanya Lee, a Toronto mother and entrepreneur who runs the book club for teenage girls called A Room Of Your Own, said she sent an email back with information about Islamic State from media sources.

“This is what Islamic State means,” Ms Lee wrote to the superintendent. according to The Globe and Mail. “It is a terrorist organisation. It has nothing to do with ordinary Muslims. The TDSB should be aware of the difference.”

A statement from the TDSB said: “An opinion that did not reflect the position of the Toronto District School Board was shared with the organiser of the book club prior to staff having an opportunity to read the books – something that is routinely done before giving them to students. We sincerely apologise to both Ms Henein and Ms Murad – both of whom have powerful stories to tell and from whom students would learn a great deal.”