International Women’s Day 2026 - Solidarity, representation and agency

Migrant women shaping narratives in Amsterdam

International Women’s Day is about more than the symbolic celebration and acknowledgement of women. As part of New Women Connectors' W-Star project, we organised a film screening and a panel discussion centered around the agency of migrant women. 

With three moving, thought-provoking short films that were directed by people with lived experience of migration and displacement, and the panel discussion that followed, we explored how migrant women are authors of their own narrative, shaping how migration, identity, and belonging are understood in society. These personal stories and perspectives are instrumental to real discussions about solidarity and the human cost of migration policies: policies that often neglect these lived experiences.

The following documentaries were screened:

“It’s a fight” by Farouk Ebaiss and Micha Adarian 

This documentary about Micha Adarian, journalist and activist, captures the journey of both a "chosen name" and a "chosen life". It highlights the real-life experience of a refugee trans woman in the Netherlands and her appreciation for finding solidarity amongst a community. Micha openly shares about the constant battle of survivors and how it requires resilience to move on and heal. This authentic perspective is a grand contribution to the representation of those who are often not listened to.

“My Maysoon” by Batoul Karbijha

Batoul’s sister, Maysoon disappeared on the Mediterranean Sea when her boat capsized while she was on her way from Syria to Europe. Batoul uses the making of a film as a means of finding out what happened to her missing sister Maysoon and to cope with the tremendous loss. This personal story sheds light on  the human cost of migration policies: instead of ensuring safety and legal security, the system fails people seeking a better life. Amongst these individual fates, refugee and migrant women’s voices are most often unheard and need to be amplified in order to aim for policy change. 

“In your Eyes” by Sandra Alloush, produced in collaboration with NWC

This documentary follows Sandra’s journey through some of the major cities of Europe, sharing the fascinating stories of the survival of migrants and refugees. It explores themes of identity, migration, asylum and racism and examines the complexities of the migrant and refugee experience. Showcasing the multitude of realities and perspectives experienced daily by migrants and refugees, the personal stories shared add to the discussion of belonging and solidarity. 

Panel discussion

Following the film screening, a panel discussion moderated by Syrian filmmaker and photographer Julie Nakzi focused on addressing migrant and refugee women's voices and lived experiences and bridging individual narratives to systemic policy needs.

Speakers included: 

• Batoul Karbijha, Filmmaker of “My Maysoon” and advocate for missing migrants

• Micha Adarian, Journalist and activist starring in “It is a Fight”

• Eleni Diker, Researcher at Oxfam Novib

• Yordi Lassooy-Tekle, Founding director of Migration Inc. 

• Eszti Galantai, Communication officer at New Women Connectors  

“ A documentary can carry complex topics and emotions. It carries layers”.

Batoul Karbijha, filmmaker of ‘My Maysoon’ explained the emotional overload that came with choosing the medium of a documentary to share the search for her sister and the emotions that unravelled from it, both in herself and in her family. Because this was so emotionally heavy and challenging for her family, she used the means of the camera to be able to talk about it with her family for the first time. 

It is apparent from the panel discussion that documentaries are a powerful tool to explore complicated, nuanced topics and emotions. In the case of ‘In Your Eyes’, Sandra followed people across Europe with varying migratory backgrounds. Through these discussions, it became apparent that even though the people featured in the documentary live in different countries, they are facing similar problems and situations, which sheds a light on the universality of the lack of opportunities and meaningful assistance when it comes to integration. As integration processes are greatly tied to labour opportunities and social acceptance, it was noted that recognition of refugee women is still lacking. 

“I feel at home in this country but I also miss home. And if I’m home, I miss this home” 

Yordi Lassoy-Tekle described the complexity of emotions when it comes to longing, home and starting over in a new country. This intricacy was also experienced by Micha Adarian, who highlighted the importance of bringing forward the change one wants to see, encouraging and strengthening representation by example. 

Representation lies at the heart of the work of all the panelists. Micha further pointed out that the perspective on migrant women is lacking recognition in terms of their expertise and agency. This is something well-recognised by both Eleni Diker and Eszti Galantai, who both talked about narratives around migration. While Eleni spoke from a research perspective, she nevertheless emphasized the humanity behind data and numbers, which is something often overlooked when it comes to mainstream research, conducted by people often without lived experiences of migration. The panelists all agreed on the necessity of policy-makers who truly understand the struggles and challenges of being a migrant woman. 

“I’m as much worth as you”.

When asked what representation means to her as a trans woman living in the Netherlands, Micha talked about often feeling a fake acceptance from society. She also noted that self-worth should not be tied to the labour force, as the discussion went on to acknowledge that refugees are perceived in their most vulnerable moments when they arrive. The panelists, along with the moderator noted that there is a duality of feelings in being a refugee: one can feel a sense of gratefulness for having found a new home and safety, while at the same time, and yet still recognise that representation is severely lacking, and even if it is there, too often it misses an important focus on agency of refugee women. This also translates to the independence of the partner and/or employer, which can create dangerous scenarios for women. 

Meaningful participation is more than just about voting, Eszti added. To enable true change, policymakers need to ensure that their definition of political and civic participation expands beyond voting, and includes the perspectives and experiences of migrant and refugee women. Another important layer of this is ensuring that women have access to support networks, which empower them, so that they can give the same resources back to their communities. 

Complexity and duality of emotions, representation and ideas for meaningful change - these are the themes that characterised the panel discussion following the screening of the documentaries. The panelists, all of whom, in varying ways, fight for representation and the recognition of their agency, all stressed the importance of giving space for these voices and the people behind them. 

On International Women’s Day, we stood in solidarity with migrant and refugee women across Europe. While we all have our own individual stories, backgrounds, dreams and talents, we are all going through similar experiences. The systems in place were not made for us, and they were not made with agency in mind. That is why we keep working every day, to represent ourselves and to show solidarity to those who are fighting every day to be meaningfully represented. 

W-STAR is a project running from September 2024 to September 2026. It is led by The Mediterannean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) in partnership with New Women Connectors, COSPE and moveGlobal.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.