A European Parliament exhibition paying tribute to female refugees is being held in Parliament this week on the occasion of International Women’s Day tomorrow.
Themed ‘Women refugees and asylum seekers’, the exhibition highlights women’s plight through their journeys across Europe as part of efforts by the European Parliament to highlight female refugees’ struggles, a spokesman for the European Parliament information office in Malta said.
Photojournalist Marie Dorigny was commissioned by the European Parliament to supply the images, with her work being exhibited at various European capitals, including Valletta, to mark Women’s Day.
Here the exhibition will also serve to showcase work by local photographers and a picture by the Times of Malta photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi was declared the best entry.
The exhibition was opened on Friday by Speaker Anġlu Farrugia who said the theme chosen by the United Nations for International Women’s Day 2016 was ‘Planet 50-50 by 2030: step it up for gender equality’, adding that the European Union rightly concentrated on women refugees and asylum seekers.
Umayama Elamin Amer and Hourie Tafech recounted experiences of female migrants during the opening.
Ms Umayma is a Sudanese representative of Migrant Women Association of Malta and Ms Tafech, a Palestinian refugee, is one of the founders of Spark15, a group of young refugees in Malta.
The exhibition is open during office hours until Friday. Entrance is free of charge.