Art, Voice & Action: From Lived Experience to Systemic Change

Date: 21st July

Time: 9:30am to 13:30

Location: Room C309, Tait Building, City St George's University.

We are bringing together survivors of Honour-Based Abuse/Domestic Abuse, NGOs, healthcare professionals, policy makers, academics, and community leaders, with one purpose: to take a body of participatory research and turn it into a concrete intervention programme that genuinely serves survivors.

This event showcases artwork created by survivors of Honour-Based Abuse/Domestic Abuse during a series of creative workshops exploring safety, agency, and participation. Funded by City St George's SPGA HEIF and building on British Academy-funded research, these workshops gave migrant women a powerful space to express their experiences, hopes, and aspirations through painting, collage, and creative reflection.

At this event, we will bring conversations into action, discussing how research findings and the workshop outcomes can shape real interventions and support programmes for migrant women subjected to Honour-Based Abuse/Domestic Abuse.

Led by Dr. Pardis Asadi Zeidabadi and Dr. Kulsoom Yusuf-Pridmore, with special contributions from Dr. Alexandria Inne

Dr Pardis Asadi Zeidabadi

Dr Pardis Asadi Zeidabadi is a Researcher and Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at City, University of London. Her research focuses on gender equality, feminism, migration, gender-based violence, and the experiences of MENA diasporic women, with particular expertise in Iranian women’s activism and feminist movements.

She is the first co-editor of The Politics of Gender and Rights: The Islamic Context (2025) and has published in journals including Politics & Gender, Gender, Place & Culture, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, and Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. Her work explores women’s agency, safety, participation, and gender justice in Middle Eastern and diasporic contexts.

Dr. Kulsoom Yusuf Pridmore

Dr. Kulsoom Yusuf Pridmore is a passionate advocate and leader in the field of gender-based violence prevention and survivor empowerment. She currently serves as the Head of Discipline: Continuous Professional Development and a Programme Leader at the University of Derby, where she has contributed as an educator since 2012.

Motivated by her dedication to social justice, Kulsoom has undertaken extensive research exploring honor-based abuse (HBA) and the role of education in prevention and intervention.

Kulsoom has presented her research findings at conferences on gender studies, equity in education, and safeguarding. She is driven to promote inclusion, diversity, and widened participation across educational institutions and communities.

Outside of academia, Kulsoom volunteers her expertise to spur meaningful change through awareness, training, and policy guidance. She serves as a Trustee for Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO) and has chaired the Board of Directors for Karma Nirvana. Additionally, Kulsoom advises the Rochdale HBA Group as Deputy Chair and sits on their task force developing and delivering training for frontline workers across Rochdale/Greater Manchester. She also works closely with Greater Manchester Police as an expert advisor on their HBA policy review.

Dr. Alexandria Innes

Dr. Alexandria Innes joined City in 2020 and is currently Reader in International Politics, specialising in the international politics of migration, and in particular in migration-related violence. She is currently co-director of the Participatory Action Research Group in Migration and Border Violence.

Theoretically, Alexandria's research is situated at the intersection of migration studies and critical security studies in International Relations, and empirically is particularly interested in violence experienced during the process of migration journeys. She is CI on the VISION project on Violence, Health and Society.

Alexandria has published in various outlets, including Review of International Studies, European Journal of Internaitonal Relations, International Political Sociology, Security Dialogue, Geopolitics and International Relations. She is the author of two monographs, Migration, Citizenship and the Challenge for Security (Palgrave, 2015), and Postcolonial Citizenship and Transnational Identity (Routledge, 2020

Nour Norris

Nour is the founder of SecureLife Consultancy, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about domestic abuse, with a strong focus on early identification, intervention, and prevention. She established the charity in memory of her cousin, Rameem Oudeh, and her sister, Khaloa Saleem, who were tragically murdered in Solihull in 2018. Since their deaths, Nour has been a relentless campaigner, which recently led to the introduction of Raneem’s Law, passed by the new Labour Government. Alongside her son, she continues to share their lived experience to influence domestic abuse policy and practice across the UK, working closely with employers. She has also collaborated with West Midlands Police to push for meaningful changes and ensure lessons are learned from this tragedy.

Naz Shah MP

Naz Shah MP is the Labour Member of Parliament for Bradford West and the UK Government's Trade Envoy to Indonesia and the ASEAN Region.

Having won four elections since 2015, Naz has held various front bench positions for the Labour Party in opposition and built a reputation for principled independence in Parliament. In 2023, she resigned from the Shadow front bench to vote for a ceasefire in Gaza against her party's position — a decision that reflected the same willingness to act on conviction that has defined her political career.

Her path to Parliament is unlike almost any other in British political history. Naz overcame childhood trauma, forced marriage, and the imprisonment of her mother as a teenager to become one of the most recognised Muslim women in public life. She has been named in The Muslim 500: The World's Most Influential Muslims every year since 2022.

As Trade Envoy, she works to deepen the UK's economic and diplomatic ties across Southeast Asia. In Bradford West, she remains a tireless campaigner on social justice, equality, and human rights.

Attendance

• If you no longer wish to attend this event, please cancel on Eventbrite at least 48 hours before the event
• If you do not attend without cancelling beforehand you may be charged a £10 fine