Women in Transition


Over 45 people attended MRCF’s event on the 30th March to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. We held the event to recognise the courageous, skilled and dedicated women who have led their communities during their transition to life in the UK.

During the meeting two of our community leaders Waris Mohamoud (Midaye Somali Development Network) and Souad Talsi (Al-Hasaniya Moroccan Women’s Centre) shared their stories with us. Through a presentation by Daisy Sands (Fawcett Society), we learned about how the experiences of refugee and migrant women fit into the wider picture of gender inequality in the UK. She also outlined the main threats to women and gender equality that Government cuts are likely to bring. Yasmin Rehamn spoke of her own experiences growing up in a migrant family in the North East of England and her concerns about how recessions often lead to the scapegoating of groups seen as ‘outsiders’. The meeting closed with MRCF member, Asiatta Thiam, reading her own poem – The Tears of my Mother.

The main focus of the meeting was to identify areas of common interest and cooperation for us to work together on. Concerns about how refugee and migrant women are portrayed in the media and issues about under and unemployment emerged as key themes. The group also agreed to work with the Fawcett Society to provide them with the evidence they need to take the voices and experiences of refugee and migrant women to policy makers.

This is ongoing work for MRCF, so please be in touch with ideas and questions and let us know if you’d like to get involved. And check out the videos from the day!


Cutting Women Out? – Fawcett Society Presentation

One thought on “Women in Transition

Leave a Reply