“In my country as well the ‘morality police’ control women: where they go, how they are dressed, what they talk about and so many other things… Now in Greece, I have the right to walk around without fear. My family, who are back in Iraq, are happy for me and the freedom I enjoy here!”

On the occasion of the “women’s revolution” in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the morality police, we started a conversation with a young Iraqi mother about the situation in her country, which few people know is similar to that in Iran.

“Very often, we have these conversations with mothers who bring their children to our site while they wait for their turn at the Asylum Service. Here they can express their feelings, concerns and even their fears”, say Andromachi and Chrysoula, our coordinators for the Mother and Child Space at the Asylum Service in Thessaloniki.

METAdrasi created the Mother and Child Spaces with its own resources in 2016 at the Asylum Service in Athens and in 2017 at the Asylum Service in Thessaloniki.

In these specially designed spaces, mothers can express themselves freely, breastfeed and take care of their babies, while young children have the opportunity to play safely and be creatively engaged by our team members, with the valuable help of our volunteers.

To date, a total of 94,000 visits have been made to the Spaces by mothers and children.

The activity is being implemented with the support of UNICEF and in cooperation with the Asylum Service.