A Birmingham-based migrants rights activist has released an 11 minute movie featuring 100 artworks from refugee women fleeing danger across the world.
Celebrating International Women's Day on Monday, 8th March, the The Migration Blanket tells the story of women who have had to leave their homes for their safety featuring migrant stories from as far as Greece and South Africa, from women and girls aged 16 and above.
Salma Zulfiqar, the founder of the ARTConnects produced the film to give a voice to refugee women around the world including some in Birmingham. It has won Best Animated Short Film at the Berlin Independent Film Festival.
Salma collected the art during sessions she has been running from her home and in her statement to Birmingham Mail, she said, "I created this film with refugee and migrant girls and women in Birmingham and around the world as many are suffering in silence. The connections they made with each other helped them through this crisis and with mental health. Over 100 artworks feature in the film from the girls and women together with my artwork. I want this film to evoke compassion and tolerance with refugees and migrants. Solidarity is the only way forward in this crisis.
"Many girls don't know their rights. I've spoken to some young migrant and refugee women who were married at a very young age as child brides and they believe that this is the norm. So, it's about educating girls to empower them to make the right decisions in their lives.”
Her project The Migration Blanket has received support from the Arts Council UK & National Lottery Fund, The United Nations Migration Agency, IOM, Celebrating Sanctuary, Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Nobel Laureate, Malala Yousafzai, the Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Celebrating Sanctuary, Near Neighbours and the Aziz Foundation.
