From 11 June - 22 June, this exhibition amplifying the unheard voices of Afghan women and girls will be on display in the Churchyard.

Since August 2021, Afghan women and girls have been grappling with increasingly restrictive decrees that limit their participation in all aspects of social, economic, and political life. These restrictions have confined millions of women to their homes, preventing their important contributions to society. Adding to this dire situation, Afghanistan continues to face the compounded effects of conflict, disaster, climate change, and mass forced returns from Iran and Pakistan—most of those returning from Pakistan are women and children—with little to no prospects for sustainable reintegration. These overlapping challenges are pushing many to migrate in search of better economic opportunities, stability, and safety.
 
With numerous humanitarian crises unfolding globally, the plight and resilience of the Afghan people - especially women - are at risk of being forgotten. Strategically aligned with the resettlement supported by IOM of many Afghan refugees who will be received by UK communities across the country over the coming couple of years, the exhibition “A Glimpse into the Lives of Afghan Women, stories of struggle and resilience” amplifies the unheard voices of Afghan women and girls. By doing so, it aims to raise awareness of some of the major drivers behind forced displacement, as well as highlight the importance of resettlement programmes that save lives and set the foundation for diverse communities to thrive.
 
This exhibition features 20 photos and testimonials from displaced Afghan women depicting various aspects of their migration journeys over the last 10 years. These stories and images capture the hardships that so many Afghan women are experiencing, but they also bring hope in their remarkable strength and resilience, as they find their own unique ways to resist.
 

The Authors  

Shamsia Hassani began painting the streets of Kabul in 2010, transforming walls marked by conflict into vivid images of women, often with closed eyes, carrying instruments, or moving through imagined spaces. Her work reclaims public space and challenges dominant narratives. 

Claudia Janke is a London-based photographer whose work for this project centres on the Afghan box camera, a handmade instant camera that was one of the only photographic tools permitted under the first Taliban regime, used almost exclusively to photograph men for identity documents. Janke reclaims it as an instrument of portraiture and visibility, working alongside Afghan women who escaped the regime. 

Joseph Newman, Communication Multimedia Assistant with IOM UK, has worked in visual communications for over 10 years. After earning a degree in Cinema and Photography from the University of Leeds, he worked as a photojournalist and videographer, covering key news stories such as the European migration crisis and peacebuilding in Ukraine. A notable achievement was his photo essay on volunteering during the Covid-19 pandemic, which won The National Portrait Gallery's ‘Hold Still’ competition and was displayed in the gallery. 

Mohammad Osman Azizi is a Kabul-based multimedia storyteller and Communications Associate with IOM Afghanistan, where he documents migration, displacement, resilience and the lives of communities affected by crisis. With a background in journalism and communication, his work uses photography, videography and human-centred storytelling to highlight the dignity, strength and leadership of Afghan women rebuilding their lives amid uncertainty. Through his IOM Storyteller pieces and field-driven multimedia content, Osman has helped bring Afghan women’s experiences of return, livelihood, struggle and resilience to national and global audiences. His content has also been picked up and amplified by international media, including Al Jazeera and the BBC, contributing to wider understanding of Afghanistan’s humanitarian realities. 

This exhibition is organised by IOM UK and hosted at Southwark Cathedral as part of the official Refugee Week 2026 programme. Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. 7

About IOM

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the United Nations Migration Agency. 

In the United Kingdom, IOM supports migration management by helping migrants and refugees to better integrate and by assisting receiving communities to recognize and support the positive contributions that migrants make. Our operations, policy and research include refugee resettlement and family reunion, migrant integration, diaspora engagement, immigration advice and support for survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking. The UK hosts one of IOM’s data analysis hubs, partnering with leading UK universities and think tanks to help increase understanding of global migration patterns and inform evidence-based policy and action. 

IOM has a presence in over 170 countries around the world and has operated in Afghanistan since 1992, providing humanitarian assistance, livelihoods support, and protection services, particularly for women and girls. In the UK, IOM supports the resettlement of Afghans through programmes such as the Afghan Resettlement Programme, helping people prepare for their new lives and supporting the communities that receive them. 

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