Schedule

Thursday, March 20, 2025
6:30 p.m. Panel Discussion
7:30 p.m. Reception

Join Asia Society Texas, Daya Houston, and the filmmakers and family from the 2022 documentary To Kill A Tiger  for a conversation about the impact of gender-based violence and the importance of open dialogues to address this issue. The documentary tells the story of an Indian family's persistent pursuit for justice in the face of many obstacles — including threats of violence — and entrenched opposition after their 13-year-old daughter survived a sexual assault.  

While the events of the documentary transpired in India, the themes of gender-based violence are universal. This program seeks to start a conversation around the need for community to address sexual assault in India, Texas, and anywhere in the world. Clips of the documentary will be presented alongside a discussion from the panelists.

This program will discuss themes of gender-based violence and sexual assault and may not be suitable for some audiences.

About the Speakers

Swati Narayan was born in Houston, Texas to immigrant South Asian parents. Her childhood experiences informed her views on justice and the right for all to have access to quality education and life opportunities. She attended public schools, and then the University of Texas and University of Houston. She has worked in the nonprofit sector both in India and in Houston, focusing her efforts on underserved women, children, and under-resourced communities and is currently the Houston Director of AAPI Community Safety, an initiative funded by The Asian American Foundation and housed within Daya Houston. Swati serves on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, and on the Advisory Board of University of Houston’s Friends of Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies and is an active volunteer in gun violence prevention efforts through Everytown for Gun Safety's Moms Demand Action

Nisha Pahuja is an Oscar-nominated, Peabody, Grierson and Emmy-nominated filmmaker based in Toronto. Her latest film, To Kill a Tiger, had its world premiere at TIFF where it won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. Since then, it’s garnered 29 awards including the Best Documentary Feature, Palm Springs International Film Festival, three Canadian Screen awards, and the DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Feature, 2023. The film grew out of a long career of addressing various human rights issues, notably violence against women in India. In 2015, she won the Amnesty International media award for Canadian journalism after making a short film about the Delhi bus gang rape for Global News. Pahuja’s other past credits include the multi-award-winning The World Before Her (2012 Best Documentary Feature, Jury Award Winner, Tribeca Film Festival; Best Canadian Documentary, Hot Docs; TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten; Best Documentary nominee, Canadian Screen Awards, the series Diamond Road (2008 Gemini Award for Best Documentary Series) and Bollywood Bound (2002 Gemini Award nominee). In 2024, Pahuja was invited to be a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

About the Moderator

Nishi Kothari is a partner at the Brasher Law Firm, and heads up the Houston office. She is the former president of the South Asian Bar Association (Houston chapter) and the President Elect of the South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA North America). SABA North America seeks to strengthen the rapidly growing South Asian legal community with a recognized and trusted forum for professional growth and development and promotes civil rights and access to justice for the South Asian community. SABA North America is considered to be the voice of the South Asian legal community in North America. Nishi has consistently been recognized for her achievements in court. She has been consistently rated as a Super Lawyer, which selects the top 5% of attorneys in each state to the Super Lawyers list each year. In 2021, she was recognized as a Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer, which selects the top 500 plaintiff consumer lawyers in the country. She also is a graduate of the Keenan Trial Institute.

Asia Society hosts today's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect Asia Society views.

Asia Society Texas Business & Policy Programs are endowed by the Huffington Foundation.

Business and Policy programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Bank of America, Muffet Blake, and ExxonMobil. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, The Brown Foundation, Inc., and Houston Endowment Inc. Generous funding provided by bp America, Inc, Anne and Albert Chao, ConocoPhillips, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Regions Bank, and Stephanie and Frank Tsuru. Additional support is provided by the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming.

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About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.

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