Glasgow Girls (activists)

Glasgow Girls
Founded 2005[1]
Founder Euan Girvan[1]
Type Human rights group
Focus Human rights
Women's liberation
Location
Key people
  • Amal Azzudin
  • Roza Salih
  • Agnesa Murselaj
  • Ewelina Siwak
  • Toni-Lee Henderson
  • Jennifer McCarron
  • Emma Clifford

The Glasgow Girls are a group of seven young women in Glasgow, Scotland, who highlighted the poor treatment of asylum seekers whose rights of appeal had been exhausted. In 2005, the group campaigned against dawn raids, raised public awareness and found support in the Scottish Parliament. Their story has been told in a musical and a film.

History

Named by two of its members Amal Azzudin and Roza Salih the group, who all attended Drumchapel High School in Glasgow, was established in 2005 in response to the detention of one of their friends, Agnesa Murselaj.[2][1] Publicity grew as the girls challenged the then First Minister Jack McConnell on the matter and publicly voiced their concerns as more children at their school were being dawn raided, detained and deported.[1]

After visiting the Scottish Parliament twice, The Glasgow Girls obtained cross-party support on the issue.

The group won the Scottish Campaign of the Year Award in 2005 at the annual Scottish politician of the year ceremony for their hard work. However, it did not stop them from demanding to know just what had happened to the "protocol" that Jack McConnell had promised to obtain from the Home Office that social services, education services, and the Immigration police would be consulted before any decision was made on the removal of a family.

Two documentaries have been made by the BBC about their campaign, one of which won the Nations and Regions Award in the Amnesty International UK Media Awards.

In 2014, the University of Strathclyde announced scholarship funding to allow three asylum seekers to study.[3]

Depiction in popular culture

In 2012, the National Theatre of Scotland presented a modern musical at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow depicting the life of the Glasgow Girls.[4] The musical then had a run at Stratford East Theatre in London[5] and returned to the Citizens in 2014 as part of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme.

The BBC created a new musical television drama which aired on BBC Three on 15 July 2014.[6][3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Leadbetter, Russell (12 July 2014). "Man behind the Glasgow Girls". Evening Times. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Stewart, Catriona (17 June 2012). "Now it's Glasgow Girls: The Musical". Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Glasgow Girl helps secure asylum seeker student funding". BBC News. 9 October 2014.
  4. ↑ McLean, Pauline (31 October 2012). "Glasgow girls' protest inspires musical". BBC News.
  5. ↑ "True Glasgow Girls story inspires London musical". BBC News. 12 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Glasgow Girls, review: 'more like a teaching aid than a gritty drama'". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2014.

External links

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