MEWSO supports Middle Eastern, North African and Asian women in London to rebuild their lives, building on the values of secularism, solidarity and social justice. We spoke to founder and women’s rights activist Halaleh Taheri about the difference a grant from Rosa has made to her work
I was born in Iran and took part in the 1979 revolution against the Islamic Republic, fighting for the independence of Kurdistan, losing many loved ones along the way. Then I moved to Iraq and witnessed the fall of Saddam Hussein in Kurdistan. When the Gulf War broke out in 1992, I fled to Turkey and from there, was granted asylum in Sweden where I stayed for 14 years, starting a political career. I moved to England mainly to improve my English, but I was so fascinated by the society and how it functions that I decided to stay. I qualified as a social worker, then founded MEWSO because I wanted to help women integrate, make friends and flourish; helping displaced women in their journey of adjustment in a new country.
Monday is a challenging day for us as we run a drop-in advice centre and women come to us in the midst of a crisis; we have to calm them down, advise them and work with them, so they leave us feeling like they’ve been listened to and with an action plan. Women might come having suffered trauma such as domestic, sexual or honour-related violence, FGM, arranged marriages, relationship issues and mental health issues. We can advise women about benefits, housing, immigration, childcare, employment, further education and social services, as well as helping them understand legal documents.
MEWSO helps women adjust to life in the UK by providing them with advice on issues such as housing, benefits and domestic violence, as well as support for those recovering from trauma experienced in their country of origin. People told me MEWSO would fail and not to bother putting my energy into it; I had to deal with a lot of negativity, which was difficult to hear but I had an inner resilience and a passion for my work and what I wanted to achieve. I’m so pleased I chose not to listen to the naysayers, as I can look back and feel a sense of pride at what I’ve achieved. MEWSO also runs the Olive club: a weekly social club for women from refugee and BME communities with different activities each week, such as arts and crafts, storytelling and awareness training on issues such as mental and physical health.
Rosa gave us a grant from the Voices From The Frontline programme for our campaign #PolygamyMatters, to raise awareness of the problem of polygamy, encourage women’s voices to be heard and ultimately to help them take control of their lives. I spoke at Greenwich University about the emergency situation for these women; I wanted people to understand these women were unhappy and wanted to change their situation. Getting their stories heard was the first step, so I used the grant to run workshops for the women, where we used art therapy and other tools to encourage them to share their stories, so they realised they weren’t alone in dealing with these issues. I was breaking the taboo around polygamy and talking to politicians; 25,000 women in this country are living as a ‘second wife’ and are being ignored because it’s considered a ‘cultural issue’ but they are UK citizens.
I was also grateful to Rosa for being sponsored to take part in the Clore leadership programme, which has taught me how important it is to be able to feel confident about leading and being the person who people trust. I want to pass on my experience and knowledge to other women and make them strong enough to champion the community; to expand the model of leadership into the community and transform grassroots activism.