Sofia University Alumni Speakers Series: Featuring author Rekha Kurup

 Sofia University Alumni Speaker Series Proudly Presents

 Rekha Kurup, MA
Women’s Spirituality

Thursday, July 10, 2014

 Sofia University room
1059A

6:00pm to 7:30pm

Admission is FREE and
open to the public!

Reclaiming Embodied Sexuality through Matriarchal
Her-Stories

In the backdrop of a globalized, sexualized, capitalistic

social fabric of modern life reflecting a steep rise in sexual violence towards

women and girls, Rekha Kurup, a modern-day city-bred daughter of Kerala, India,
and also a graduate of our Women's Spirituality program, makes a journey into
her indigenous matriarchal past through the memories of her grandmothers in an
effort to redefine, reclaim and re-inform her female sexuality through the
discovery and investigation of matrilineal Nayar practices. In her journey to
womanhood, she began to question everything—gender perceptions, cultural and
social conditioning, the “do’s and “don’ts of a feminine identity, the age-old
dogmas defining womanhood, the shame, disgust and silence surrounding body and
sexuality, and most importantly the direct and indirect influences of
mother-centered and father-centered cultures on my relationship with body and
sexuality.

Rekha Kurup is a former Computer Science Engineer with a

decade of experience working in the IT industry. In 2006 she quit her career to

pursue her dream of working within the nonprofit field. For years Rekha

volunteered with Art of Living Foundation, visiting colleges and universities

in the Bay Area addressing stress, depression and suicides in students. She

organized and taught many workshops to students and faculty to deal with

stress, depression and emotions. Starting 2009 she took up the position of

Executive Director for International Association for Human Values educational

initiative of YES! for Schools. Under her leadership the program was championed
and implemented in the public classrooms of many elementary, middle and high
schools of California and around the country.

Come and listen to
Rekha as she shares her journey to Sofia University!

For more information
please visit: http://www.rekhagovindankurup.com/