WHITE SCARF CAMPAIGN
To mark˜Elimination of Violence Against Women Dayand the 16 days of activism,MWNUKran a Facebook campaign on25 November 2012 10 December 2012- everyone was encouraged to wear a white scarf to raise awareness of violence against women. It is also important that men partner with women in the fight against this abuse. Men, women and children participated in the campaign including victims of violence. |
No. 1- The first photo was contributed by the lovely Priya Mulji rocking her white scarf in the heart of London | ||
No. 2- This woman was beaten by her boyfriend with various objects including a broken bottle and felt unable to seek help from family members as she felt her circumstances would not be appreciated in their "perfect" world. To show her support to our campaign she sent a picture of a White Scarf with the message "my face would never show the real story behind my eyes". This is the effect that violence has on women - we must end violence NOW! | ||
No. 3- We have our very own Board Member Mussurut Zia looking beautiful as ever in her white scarf! | ||
No. 4- Introducing Robert Carpenter! Proving the phrase "age is just a number", after retirement became involved in various sport-related initiatives and has been encouraging the elderly to remain fit and active. At the same time he involves himself in interfaith work as he believes we're all human at the end of the day. Bob has been wearing a white scarf since our campaign started to show his support; he feels "women should be treated like princesses" and does not understand how others can inflict violence on them. | ||
No. 5- Who doesn't rememberSabbiyah Pervez'smemorable role in Make Bradford British?! Sabbiyah has become a role model for British Muslim women (and for the rest of society) and we know this can only lead to positive results. Now you can also remember her for supporting our campaign to raise awareness & eliminate violence against women. | ||
No. 6- Where do we start about Aisha Aslam? Trainee Solicitor by day, musician by night and an advocate for women's rights 24/7. Aisha has worked on a number of domestic violence cases and felt it was so important to raise awareness that she got her guitar involved in the White Scarf campaign! | ||
No. 7- Tamina Mir provides confidence coaching for women fleeing domestic violence and has been supporting women living in the community for the last 10 years through organising drop-ins and support groups. She is also the founder of an online social network to give Asian women a platform by gain confidence and engage in social activism. | ||
No. 8- Introducing Sheena Ghamy who we like to think of as the little ray of sunshine in the dark legal world. An avid supporter of equality and diversity in the legal profession, Sheena applies her beliefs to every aspect of her life and abhors violence against women and girls. | ||
No. 9- A big thank you to Aysha Muhammed, whose message for us is "liberated by Islam" for supporting our campaign. Aysha does a lot of charity work and is currently working on a project to support women in different aspects of their lives. | ||
No. 10- Safiyah Phyall has a very simple yet strong message of support: "White for our rights." | ||
No. 11- And we also have Jodie Pratt in solidarity of the White Scarf campaign! Thank you for helping raise awareness and fight to eliminate violence against women and girls! | ||
No. 12- And we have a little angel called Aaliyah Gohir supporting our campaign. The future is bright and currently sporting the colour white! :) | ||
No. 13- Introducing Gary Lee Walters: Director of StretLaw and Founder of UniLawStudents "creating meaningful professional links through networking". A tutor and lecturer in law, Gary's areas of expertise include sexual offences and the law and more often than not he is found writing and advocating on behalf of women and for human rights in general. | ||
No. 14- She needs no introduction because everyone knows about her commitment to eliminating violence against women and girls... It's Shaista Gohir our very own Board Member in solidarity of the White Scarf campaign! | ||
No 15- Charlotte Evans - Law graduate & Feminist. Why the butterfly mask? Because to her the butterfly symbolises a number of key aspects relevant to the campaign. In some cultures a butterfly exemplifies re-birth, or a restart. Is that not women abused look for? For others it is a symbol of love, simplicity and happiness. Is that not what we want for all? Most importantly, a butterfly is free. That is what we should all be. | ||
No. 16- Kolpona Saddeque is a charity worker, football fanatic, fitness geek and most importantly a woman that dislikes stereotypes and is vocal in speaking out against judgmental notions. | ||
No. 17- Introducing Stephanie Wagstaff. Being a Geography graduate makes her aware of the world in its many forms but the beauty about Stephanie is that she is also aware of the people that in the world and their many forms. Kind hearted and caring it is no surprise that she immediately agreed to assist with our campaign and when she couldn't find a completely white scarf, she found the next best thing! | ||
No. 18- Hats off to Khatija Barday-Wood of Eiman Northamptonshire who has been spreading the word of our campaign and who most importantly dedicates so much of her time to fight for the rights of women! | ||
No 19- We just have one thing to say: Thank you Eiman Northamptonshire for involving this lovely young girls in our campaign. | ||
No. 20- Reena Munir is a photographer extraordinaire, undiscovered singer, philosopher and guide. Need we say more? | ||
No. 21- This is Nazmin Akthar - our very own Board Member at MWNUK. She is also the Associate Editor for StretLaw, lawyer by profession, woman by birth and according to her - annoying by nature and 'Me by right.' | ||
No. 22- Introducing Karen Brown, a manager working in the financial services sector who also carries out therapeutic work. With love for humans and animals alike and the ability to get along with absolutely anyone, Karen is possibly an iconic example of multi-culturalism in action. | ||
No. 23- Asha Miah, a child care student, has a special message for us: "A woman brought you into this world. Therefore, you have no right to disrespect a woman let alone abuse her". We couldn't have put it better myself. | ||
No. 24- This is Ollie Lanton, a Law Student at Nottingham Law School and he really does need to be applauded for effort! When he couldn't find a scarf, he improvised with a white shirt. Now that is commitment! | ||
No. 25- This is Marzana Islam, an Illustration student, Author of "Matchmaking the nerd", for which she was given an award by Channel S, and a poet writing about all topics including women. | ||
No 26- This is Marzana Islam's 2 year old baby sister Ummayyah. All we want to say is Masha'Allah and SubhanAllah. You never know... We may be looking at UK's future Prime Minister! | ||
No. 27- And we have support coming in all the way from Bangladesh in the form of Tania Rashid, a barrister who feels very strongly about the rights of women. | ||
No. 28- Introducing Priyanka Horeesorun, a law student currently buried in her books for upcoming exams who decided she must take time out to track down a white scarf and show her support! Thank you Priyanka and good luck with your studies. | ||
No. 29- Introducing Shaheena Salahuddin Azadwith her little boy and 12 year old cousin all supporting the White Scarf Campaign. Shaheena has worked with women fleeing domestic violence and understands the importance of raising awareness especially with the younger generation. She hopes that one day issues such as violence against women can be part of the curriculum because education is key for its eradication. | ||
No. 30- To the left is Sheila Fairhurst and to the right, her daughter Carly who is no longer with us. We won't say anything further because we have Sheila's own words to share with you. However we would like to thank Sheila and her husband Trevor for all the work they do to stop violence against women including supporting us in this campaign and we are truly sorry that Carly had to pay such a high price for society's inability to eliminate violence against women. | ||
No. 31- I literally have no idea who this man is - except that he is a lawyer - but his message is as follows: "Violence is never an answer; you are damaging yourself and all those around you". | ||
No. 32- And this is our lovely Board Member Robina Iqbal sending a picture from sunny Morocco! | ||
No. 33- We have decided the North East is supporting the White Scarf Campaign with us hence the snow. Well ok not really but the thought makes us happy so let us live in denial | ||