This book contains eight stories, at times enraging and dispiriting, at times empowering and uplifting. The stories recount women’s experiences of being trafficked through Libya and forced into prostitution; of fleeing state repression and societal oppression in Egypt, Syria and Iran; of being persecuted for academic activism in Turkey, or for drug addiction in Russia; women robbed of their right to self-determination; women who have resisted deportation, and who fight racism and racist structures in Germany every day.

This book documents the lives and stories of women who have fought difficult realities. It contains texts by and about women and includes testimonials of refugee women in Germany. We approached the project in the Latin American tradition of testimonial literature – looking to amplify the voices of communities that, all too often, go unheard.