• So You Want to Make Comics: A Resource List

    When we ran one of our workshops, a student approached us at the end of the session and expressed her interest in becoming a comic artist. She asked if there were any books on making comics that she could read to develop her work. Caught on the back foot, I recommended the trusty Understanding Comics…

  • Get to Know the Team: Afrah 

    Who are you?  I am Afrah Qassim, the Founder and CEO of Savera UK, a leading national charity working to end ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) and harmful practices, including forced marriage, which this project focuses on. I was born in Yemen but came to Liverpool when I was 16 years old. As well as leading Savera…

  • A Review (or something) of Team Muhafiz and the Child Raiders

    Of course our comic is not the only educational comic on forced marriage out there. Another example is Team Muhafiz and the Child Raiders by Samar Minallah Khan, Imran Azhar, Babrus Khan, and Rabiya Waheed. It is part of a Pakistani comic book series that aims to contribute to social change. In addition to speaking…

  • Get To Know the Team: Catherine

    Who are you? Catherine Kirk, RSE Consultant, Nottingham City Council and independent consultant. I have supported the development of the Drawing on Forced Marriage materials and workshops. When did you first become interested in relationship and sex education? I began my career in theatre in education, and later managed a team delivering PSHE themed interactive…

  • My Happy Marriage: An Anime Case Study of Forced Marriage in Popular Culture

    Because I enjoy anime, Netflix’s algorithm has been hurling constant reminders at me about a new series: My Happy Marriage. I had dismissed it as of no interest to me, as I don’t tend to enjoy shōjo anime (given that I am a spooky-hearted thirty-something and the demographic of shōjo is bright teenage girls, this…

  • Get to Know the Team: Helen

    My name is Helen McCabe, and I am an Associate Professor of Political Theory at the University of Nottingham, where I also lead the work on forced marriage at the Rights Lab. I first started researching forced marriage in 2017, as a result of the International Labour Organisation and Walk Free including forced marriage in…

  • Batman and Wife: How to Close Read a Comic

    DC Special Series Vol 1 #15 June, 1978 Source: Batman Reddit Before you begin reading this blog, you may want to take a look at Hannah’s excellent post on this Batman narrative, which explores the legality of the situation that Batman has found himself in. It’s fascinating and enjoyable, and it even includes the law of the…

  • Get to Know the Team: Alex

    Who are you? My name is Alex, I am a final year PhD Candidate at the University of Liverpool, researching the influences of medieval culture on nineteenth-century Gothic literature. I know, it doesn’t seem particularly relevant to the project, really, does it? Thankfully, as a research assistant I get to use the skills I have…

  • Even Superheroes 

    I have a confession to make: ‘The Killing Joke’ is the only Batman story I have ever read, until now. And the only reason I read another one is because I came across a Reddit post entitled ‘Remember when Batman was forced to marry Thalia and?’ Don’t judge me.  If you are as unfamiliar with…

  • “I do – not”: An Introduction to Forced Marriage 

    Forced marriage is a global problem that does not pass by the UK. The International Labour Organisation (ILO), Walk Free and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimated that, worldwide, at least 22 million people lived in forced marriages in 2021. In 2022, around 300 people asked the UK’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) for advice…