Kurdish and Middle Eastern Women Organisation (KMEWO) is a ‘led by and for’ Black and Minoritised Women’s organisation in London, dedicated to improving the quality of life of Kurdish, Middle Eastern, and North African (KMENA) women who have experienced domestic abuse and harmful practices. Coming together 25 years ago, Our mission, grounded in equality and empowerment, has been to champion their fundamental rights, and provide equal opportunities through provisions of holistic support, accompanying them in their
journey towards safety, recovery and rebuild.
We offer holistic support, provided in a safe and confidential space, including virtual and face to
face services:
1. Advocacy and case work for survivors of Violence Against Women and Girls, including
issues like domestic abuse, forced marriage, FGM, So-called Honour-Based Violence,’ and
women without access to public funds.
3. Community advice and case work for housing, welfare benefits, education, and
employment issues, with referrals to specialised immigration and family legal advice.
4. One-on-one culturally competent and mother tongue counselling, delivered by BACP-accredited therapists in
Arabic, Kurdish, Farsi, Amharic, Tigrinya and English.
5. Wellbeing activities and group outings to combat isolation and strengthen social support
networks.
6. Women’s development and employment support through 1:1 advice, ESOL, IT,
employability courses, and workshops, available at community hubs or online.
7. Digital inclusion, offering digital tablets and data to women in refuges and temporary
accommodation.
8. Training for professionals on harmful practices to improve responses to survivors of
intersecting VAWG issues based on race, gender, and cultural backgrounds.
9. Integration and resettlement support for newly arrived Afghan refugee families in
Islington.
10. Immediate response to the cost-of-living crisis, distributing donations, raising cash grants,
and providing resources for emergency accommodation and food vouchers to women
without access to public funds.
The Kurdish and Middle Eastern Women’s Organisation (KMEWO) began as a merger of the Kurdistan Refugee Women’s Organisation (KRWO) and the Middle Eastern Centre for Women’s Rights. KRWO was established in 1999 as a registered Charity.
KMEWO is a “Led by and for” Black and Minoritised women’s organisation providing specialist and holistic support services to women from the Kurdish, Middle Eastern and North African (KMENA) communities living in the UK.
KMENA women arriving in the UK, usually with an unsecured immigration status , have experienced loss, trauma or forced displacement. Many of them face additional barriers often intersected with Domestic Abuse and Harmful Practices. Language barriers, unemployment and poverty, homelessness, lack of awareness of their legal rights in the UK and difficulty in accessing services are some of the complex needs we seek to provide support alongside our VAWG advocacy.
Raising awareness of the challenges they face due to their gender and race, we stand up for their rights with an aim to cover existing gaps in policy and legislation. We campaign or participate in big campaigns and we traditionally offer Harmful Practices for Professionals to explore the complex nature of harmful practices when intersected with Domestic Abuse and support frontline professionals in the voluntary and statutory sector to timely identify and respond to those incidents.
24 years after KMEWO’s establishment, we have grown into a well-known organisation that is highly respected within the Kurdish and Middle Eastern Communities, the statutory and public sector organisations.
KMEWO Charity No:1137055
Dr Janan Al-Jabiri | Chair |
Dr K. Rasheed | Secretary |
Tanya Ahmad | Treasurer |
Gilda partoandaz | Director |
Naz Jamal | Director |
Suham Hussein | Director |
Tina Saeed | Director |
Tara Ahmed | Director |
