Mengia Tschalaer

Mengia Tschalaer is a Marie-Curie Research Fellow at University of Bristol where she works on a EU-funded project examining the experiences of LGBTQI+ asylum seekers with Muslim background within Germany’s asylum system. Her research focuses on the relationship between politics of knowledge production and human rights, sexualities, race, and religion. She is the author of "Muslim Women's Quest for Justice: Gender, Law, and Activism in India" (Cambridge University Press, 2017) and of various articles and chapters on socio-legal resistance, gender, and Islam.

Fighting for asylum, as a lesbian and as a mother

Women applying for asylum on the grounds of their sexual orientation face an uphill battle if they've left children behind

By Mengia Tschalaer

/ 8 Dec 2021

Fighting for asylum, as a lesbian and as a mother

LGBTQI+ asylum claimants face extreme social isolation in Germany

LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum in Germany are isolated, inadequately housed, and at risk of violence.

By Mengia Tschalaer and Nina Held

/ 26 Nov 2019

LGBTQI+ asylum claimants face extreme social isolation in Germany

Black lesbians denied asylum in Germany

Gender-based violence can be grounds for asylum in Germany, but in practice lesbians racialised as black face a wall of disbelief when they plead their case.

By Mengia Tschalaer

/ 14 Aug 2019