Shahala the Knitter

Shahala, 50 years old, was a schoolteacher in Mahamat (Iran/Kurdistan). As a Kurdish activist against the Iranian government, she joined demonstrations against price rises, which were suppressed with violence by Iranian state forces. After she and her husband got divorced, and he got custody of their children (6 and 9 years old), he reported her for being an activist. So, she fled her country. When she had been in the UK for 8 months, having claimed asylum. Since this interview she has been granted leave to remain, her husband has agreed to let her children come to the UK, and she is active on Facebook and Instagram helping other asylum seekers and refugees.

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This material is part of the Covid Chronicles from the Margins project, funded by The Open University and The Hague. The project aims to highlight the impact of the pandemic on refugees, asylum seekers & undocumented migrants.

This item can be found on our website, here: https://cov19chronicles.com/shahala-the-knitter/