Halaleh Taheri

FiLiA

Halaleh Taheri was born in Iran, where she took place in the 1979 revolution and was forced to flee her hometown. Taheri spent three years as an armed freedom fighter, fighting to liberate occupied towns and villages. When the first Gulf War broke out in 1992, Taheri was forced to flee again, first to Turkey, and then on to Sweden. In Sweden, she gained a degree in Pedagogy and continued to fight for women’s rights. In 2005, she moved to Islington and in 2010 she founded MEWSo: The Middle Eastern Women and Society Organisation.

Taheri’s experience as a refugee fleeing war in the Middle East means that she understands the experiences of other women in similar situations. The aim of MEWSo is to defend and protect women from violence and help them to rebuild their lives. Over the years, Taheri has lost many loved ones in armed conflict in the Middle East, routinely witnessed violence against women, and suffered gender-based injustices on a daily basis. She uses these experiences to stoke her own fire: she a fierce campaigner for women’s rights.  

MEWSo’s main office can be found in Islington.