Faleeha Hassan is an award-winning Iraqi writer and teacher, often referred to as "the Maya Angelou of Iraq." A writer of both poetry and prose, her works include Because I Am Girl, Water Freckles and her latest publication, A Butterfly's Voice. In this program, Hassan will share her personal journey and what inspired her to write.

Born in 1967, Hassan was raised in central Iraq. She was a precocious reader as a child, but her middle school shut down in 1980 due to the Iraq-Iran conflict. Hassan was surrounded by war, loss and horror. She turned to writing as a way to cope, covering topics such as love, family and war in a brutally honest way.

Her collection of poems Because I Am A Girl became a sensation. She continued to write voraciously, with publication after publication. She also earned a master of arts in Arabic literature from the University of Kufa.

Unfortunately, in 2011 she was placed on a militant group's death list and had to flee to Turkey. In 2012, she and her two youngest children moved to New Jersey. She taught herself English online and began writing in English as well. She wields the pen as a mighty weapon. To quote her directly:

I'm fighting against prejudice and misunderstanding. In Iraq, it is hard to be a woman who writes. In America, it is hard to be a woman in a hijab. But if I write, and teach and raise up myself and other women, maybe equality and acceptance will come. Maybe there can be peace.