MEWSo

MEWSo's Executive Director, Halaleh Taheri, speaks at the online Annual General Meeting, 2026. Welcome, and thank you all for joining us today. It is a real pleasure to see our members, partners, funders, trustees, volunteers, staff and supporters here with us. As we gather today, we cannot ignore the difficult reality of the world around us. Across the Middle East and North Africa, millions of people continue to face conflict, displacement, violence and uncertainty. Women and families from...

On Monday, June 9, Northern Ireland once again witnessed a dangerous wave of far-right mobilisation, racist attacks, and organised arson. Following reports of a stabbing incident in Belfast, fascist and racist groups exploited the tense atmosphere and inflamed racist sentiments, took to the streets and launched a series of coordinated attacks against migrants and people of colour. Homes, cars, and shops belonging to migrants, in Belfast, Ballymena, and Larne, were targeted and set on fire,...

The streets and alleyways of Afghanistan's major cities recently witnessed arrests and brutal violence by Taliban armed groups over the “improper hijab”. As a result women and young girls in Herat, which was particularly hard hit, organised a protest that was met with severe Taliban repression. The women marched peacefully, chanting “open the schools to girls” and “enough of Taliban violence against women”, when they were confronted by Taliban military units. They were hit with naked...