Adala UK is proud to support Jaimitna, a groundbreaking multimedia artivism project created through the collaboration of FiSahara, the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara, and a collective of Sahrawi women activists, artists, journalists, architects, and filmmakers. Rooted in human rights, memory, and cultural survival, Jaimitna reclaims and reimagines the Sahrawi tent — or jaima — as a mobile space of storytelling, resistance, and resilience.

At the heart of Jaimitna is the Sahrawi tent itself: hand-sewn by refugee women in the camps of southwest Algeria, its structure echoes the weather-resistant tents used by displaced Sahrawi families for generations. Once a symbol of mobility and freedom in the desert, the jaima has become a potent emblem of resistance following the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara and the forced displacement of its indigenous people.

A Tent as a Testimony

The tent’s exterior is made from the canvas typically distributed by humanitarian aid organisations in the refugee camps — a stark reminder of the international community’s failure to resolve this decades-long conflict. But inside, the tent transforms into a vibrant interior, decorated with 19 colourful melhfas (traditional garments), each belonging to a Sahrawi woman human rights defender from the occupied territory.

Each melhfa is marked with a woman’s name and a QR code, linking to her testimony — a narrative of life under occupation, police harassment, surveillance, and gendered violence.

These women include internationally renowned figures such as Aminatou Haidar, Sultana Khaya, and Elghalia Djimi, but also lesser-known voices like Mahfouda Lekfir, whose activism and courage remain largely unrecognised beyond the territory.

Gendered Repression in Occupied Western Sahara

The inclusion of these women in Jaimitna reflects the broader pattern of gender-specific human rights violationsdocumented by Adala UK over the past decade. In our field investigations and reports, we have documented numerous cases of Sahrawi women being subjected to:

• Arbitrary detention and house arrest without legal basis.
• Sexual harassment and gender-based violence by Moroccan police and security forces.
• Invasive surveillance of women human rights defenders and their families.
• Threats of sexual violence aimed at silencing women activists.
• Public beatings and abuse, often while participating in peaceful protests or simply wearing Sahrawi traditional dress.
• Collective punishment, where entire families of female activists are targeted — including restrictions on movement, employment discrimination, and denial of medical care.

In one documented case, Sultana Khaya, a prominent activist from Boujdour, endured over 18 months of de facto house arrest, multiple physical assaults, and a brutal sexual attack by masked security agents in her own home. Despite the trauma and isolation, she continued to speak out — a testament to the resilience at the heart of Jaimitna.

In another case, Mahfouda Lekfir was arbitrarily detained in 2019, separated from her young child, and subjected to a deeply flawed legal process after merely protesting the unfair trial of a fellow activist.

These abuses have largely gone unpunished, and the Moroccan state continues to target Sahrawi women with impunity — a reality Jaimitna seeks to expose and challenge through storytelling and art.

Spaces of Repression, Spaces of Hope

The jaima — once a space of celebration, gathering, and tradition — has itself become criminalised in the occupied territory. After the peaceful Gdeim Izik protest camp in 2010, in which thousands of Sahrawis pitched tents near El Aaiún to demand dignity and social justice, the Moroccan regime issued a royal edict banning the public erection of Sahrawi tents.

Since then, families attempting to use tents for weddings, funerals, or cultural events have faced police raids, intimidation, and confiscation of their property. In this context, Jaimitna is not just an art installation — it is a bold act of cultural reclamation and defiance.

A Platform for Learning and Solidarity

As Jaimitna travels to film festivals, universities, and cultural institutions, it opens new spaces for truth-telling and solidarity. Visitors step into the tent and sit on cushions made from recycled materials, surrounded by photographs, video testimonies, and the powerful presence of the melhfas — woven with stories of resistance.

The project also lives online, expanding access to audiences who cannot experience the physical installation. Through interviews, photos, videos, and educational materials, Jaimitna fosters international awareness of the Sahrawi struggle — especially the gendered dimension of repression faced by women.

Adala UK’s Commitment

Adala UK stands with the women featured in Jaimitna and with all Sahrawi people facing injustice, violence, and occupation. Our mission is to advocate for the protection of fundamental rights in Western Sahara, particularly those of women, children and peaceful human rights defenders.

We support Jaimitna as a vital tool of truth-telling, cultural survival, and global mobilisation — one that brings the Sahrawi story into new public arenas, challenges silence, and confronts complicity.

We call on the UK Government, academic institutions, civil society, and the wider public to:

• Host and promote the Jaimitna exhibition.
• Support Sahrawi-led initiatives for peace, justice, and self-determination.
• End all complicity with Morocco’s occupation and illegal resource extraction.
• Uphold international law and women’s rights in Western Sahara.

The jaima may be banned in its homeland — but Jaimitna ensures it continues to stand: as a shelter for memory, a space of dignity, and a mobile declaration that the Sahrawi people, and especially its women, will not be erased.

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