With 10 December marking Human Rights Day, CEO Gona Saed shares a touching story of migration, loss and the endless fight for women’s rights.

10 December

By Hannah Uguru

The women at The Maya Centre make up a rainbow of different cultures, histories and struggles that reflect the complex backgrounds of those we support and the even more layered experiences of women around the world. Celebrating the ongoing fight for women’s rights, our CEO, Gona Saed, talks about her journey to the UK and how what she’s witnessed has shaped her activism and our work at The Maya Centre.

“I arrived in the UK in 1998 as a refugee young mother fleeing Kurdistan in my 20s. I lived in the UK through the famous, so-called ‘honour killings’ of young Kurdish women such as Heshu Abdalla (Yones), Banaz Mahmoud and Avan Najmadeen

“At The Maya Centre, we raise awareness and educate on domestic violence and femicide as a relevant concern for women in migrant communities through our online resources and culturally-sensitive mental health services that consider women’s gendered, racialised, cultural and religious experiences. We understand that there is no excuse for femicide or other forms of gender-based violence. That’s why we help hundreds of women affected by femicide and migration-trauma per year and have worked to increase funding available to these groups within the Islington community. 

“Those who want to support our work can do so by sharing our content and/or donating. A donation as little as a few pounds can help a woman in a difficult situation reach us at our Archway centre. 

“There is absolutely no excuse for violence against women and girls, ever, in any of its forms.”

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Women’s Rights are Human Rights. We wish you a happy Human Rights Day!