women in london

Empowering Kurdish women in London: a consultation on their needs (pdf download) seeks to identify the unaddressed needs of Kurdish women living in London as well as to draw attention to the gaps in required services to tackle such needs and problems.

The ultimate purpose of this research coincides with that of Roj Women’s Association as an organization: empowering Kurdish women to challenge discrimination and to overcome by themselves obstacles than hinder their development, well-being and sense of empowerment. We hope the work of organizations and donors whose constituencies include women from ethnic minorities will be informed by this research and that, thus, Kurdish women’s needs will be better addressed.

The methodology of this study is ground-breaking insofar it is the first attempt to produce data on Kurdish women living in London using methods that involved a systematic collection of information and a wide range of participants.

In light of this study’s findings Roj Women’s Association sees an imperative need to fund and resource the women’s sector that deals with ethnic minorities in London. Those women’s groups focusing on one community are possibly more likely to identify and effectively tackle the specific needs of the ethnic group they work with and to be aware of gender issues within them.

Roj Women’s Association recommends that, in order to address patriarchal control, lack of women’s economic independence, parenting stress and women’s isolation from their community and wider society, donors consider funding projects and programs that target Kurdish women such as:
× Culturally sensitive advice in their own languages, including advice on services available for children and the UK’s schooling system,
× Parenting skills courses,
× Individual and family counseling,
× Mobility-enhancing activities, such as projects to encourage the use of public transport or visiting parts of the city beyond their immediate neighbourhoods,
× ESOL courses combined with literacy in Kurdish or Turkish language courses,
× Volunteering programs to enhance employability, to break through isolation and to allow women to express solidarity,
× Training on specific trades and vocational training,
× Building women’s capacity to advocate for the changes they need, such as projects that educate on the Uk’s political system and encourage civic participation and activism,
× Promotion of intercultural dialogue across communities.

Of course this is a non-exhaustive list. In any case, donors and service providers should mainstream a critical approach to traditional gender roles across their services, while finding dedicated spaces for women-only that allows them interact without feeling controlled or repressed.

Lastly, it is important to remark that, while Hackney and Islington are better provided with services, Haringey suffers a more notable deficiency in services that support Kurdish women, despite the fact that a vast part of the Kurdish population concentrates in that borough.