Melody Mason 🧡

They’ve just shut down visa access to women in Afghanistan living under the Taliban, the women of Sudan seeking safety from war & famine. Happy International Women’s Day from your Labour Government.

Today, the world celebrates women. @ShabanaMahmood is putting them in danger. Happy #InternationalWomensDay, Minister. My piece in @Independent which I really hope she reads👇🏻 independent.co.uk/news/people/ne…

My latest column on Epstein - conveniently becoming a scandal about something other than abuse and debasement of women and girls theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Unbelievable that a man who spent US$75m on a film no-one wants to see about Melania Trump has just fired almost all the foreign correspondents on the newspaper he owns. You might think nothing was happening in this world. @JeffBezos @washingtonpost #SaveThePost

To all the bereaved families of the men and women UK armed forces killed in Afghanistan; you heard us read out the name of your loved one in solemn respect in the House of Commons when they died and promised we’d never forget them. And we won’t. I hope Trump’s ignorance hasn’t worsened your pain. We remember your loss.

What's happening in Gaza is now almost entirely absent from the top international headlines. But Israel is still killing Palestinians and their babies are freezing to death. We can't afford to stop talking about that.

On my normal walk through Holy Trinity Church and someone has left flowers for #Hamnet. I haven't seen the film yet but read the book. Love that two Irish actors played the main parts. My partner's family are half Irish and half Shottery ( Anne Hathaway's village) 🥰

Merry Christmas from the River Avon, Warwickshire. A wonderful bright and chilly day.

Merry Christmas to everyone in Aotearoa/New Zealand. 🎄

Happy Winter Solstice/Yule/Yalda. Light returning in the darkness. 🕯

Winter solstice. The longest night. The turning point. While the world rushes toward artificial light, you stand at the edge of the year's deepest dark, watching the cosmos breathe. Winter solstice isn't about surviving darkness. It's about owning it. You've walked through your own long nights this year. The kind that strip away illusions and show you what you're made of. Here's what the solstice teaches, the light doesn't return despite the darkness, it returns because of it. The turning only happens at the bottom. The year dies. The year is born. Same breath. Tomorrow, the light returns. So do you.

An ‘immigration special’ What about a ‘poverty’ special or why we have homelessness ‘special?

Highly recommend reading this issue with Nasima's powerful account of resilence and community building from teaching in Afghanistan to empowering others through volunteering in the UK. Really inspirational lived experience of displacement and development.

Nearly there! Such kind people have donated nearly £4000 so far to support families settling in #StratfordonAvon The campaign ends on Sunday 12th so every little bit helps to reach £5000 🧡justgiving.com/crowdfunding/w…

Just a reminder that gender apartheid and access to education online for women and girls is being increasingly decimated by The Taliban on #WorldTeachersDay2025

Horrific scenes are a reality in Al Aqsa hospital, Gaza, with children gravely injured and a severe lack of medical supplies. UNICEF Spokesperson @1james_elder, who is back in Gaza, reports from the ground. Ceasefire NOW.

Incredible #kindness shown by people supporting this amazing organisation in supporting a #refugeewelcome to families in #Shakespeare's home town of #StratfordonAvon. Please spare what you can to reach their target. @MP4Stratford @TheRSC @StratfordDC

Text Copyright © 2015 Michael Rosen, published by Smokestack Books ‘Don’t Mention the Children’ was written in 2014 by the children’s author, poet and activist Michael Rosen following a @guardian report that the Israeli government had banned a radio advert naming children killed in Gaza. Gaza is now the deadliest place in the world to be a child. Over 20,000 children have been killed by Israeli forces. The actual number is undoubtedly higher. These children had names, and favourite subjects in school. They wanted to be teachers, doctors and astronauts when they grew up – the same as children in the UK and across the world. They were, and still are, someone's everything: their entire universe. We refuse to allow their suffering to become normalised. We must make their voices heard. With Save the Children UK and @chooselove, we called on actors, presenters, activists and influencers to use their voices and platforms to ensure these children can never be erased. The poem was written to expose the silencing of children’s suffering in the face of devastating violence. Since then, the situation for children has only grown worse. Its message remains painfully relevant today. Demand Prime Minister Keir Starmer takes urgent action for children in Gaza and the West Bank. Sign our petition: bit.ly/4mnc4Zn 'Don't Mention the Children' – a poem by: @MichaelRosenYes Narrated by: Misan Harriman Zawe Ashton Beth Orton Laura Bailey Laura Whitmore Khalid Abdalla Dawn O’Porter Nadia Sawalha Jolyon Rubenstein Indira Varma Jen Brister Daniel Ings Denise Gough Stephen Kapos Max la Manna Ambika Mod Vanessa Redgrave Joely Richardson Nathalie Emmanuel Poppy Delevingne Dr Mo Mustafa Guy Pearce Michael Rosen Juliet Stevenson Annie Lennox

Please help support a wonderful charity in my hometown supporting refugees and asylum seekers. They make a life changing difference in so many ways as you can read below. 👇 #StratforduponAvon 🧡justgiving.com/crowdfunding/w…