Photographer Sadia celebrates her new home
Photographer Sadia celebrates her new home
When Sikandar Butt bought his six children a camera to record the family’s activities in Pakistan he could not have imagined that two decades later one of his daughters would win a prestigious photography competition in Scotland.
Even the successful daughter, Sadia Sikandar, would have been surprised — though at the age of 12 she seized the opportunity to make good use of her father’s gift.
“The camera wasn’t specifically for me,” she recalls with a smile, “but I did not know that.” Soon she was taking most of the photos: “I took it seriously. It was a hobby,
“I loved doing photography for my family’s events, but I never dreamed I would be a professional photographer.”
Years later life took an unexpected twist when she was granted asylum in the UK.
She had a fine art degree and an unquenchably positive outlook on life but re-starting in a new country was demanding.
“When you are taking photographs as a hobby, you have creativity, you have talent, but in Pakistan I never went outside to portray people or events. That was missing from my life until I went to UK.
“For six years in UK I was not allowed to work, but was busy helping other migrants and charities, and even taking pictures, but I never called myself a photographer.”
The turning point was success in a couple of exhibitions: a show about asylum-seekers in Tyneside, an urban area in north-east England, followed by the selection of two of her pictures for the World Food Photography Awards (which promotes “food stories from around the globe through the world’s very best food photography”).
“Now I can really proudly call myself a professional photographer,” she declares, with another of her effervescent smiles.
“It’s like a dream for any photographer to have such respect and honour at an international level. Everyone was keen to know where I am from, and when I told them I was representing Scotland they were so surprised that a ‘hijabi woman’ can be a photographer.
“People never imagined a Muslim woman can make such an impact in such a field.”
Her success made headlines in newspapers in Scotland, where she has set up a charity supporting asylum-seekers and refugees, especially those living in hotels. “I saw people’s need for support. Some were having suicide thoughts.” The organisation provides them with fresh meals, sports, arts and other activities, and a safe space where they eat together, share experiences and socialise.
Her aim is to continue what she is doing: “I am loving it, participating in lots of campaigns, running my own charity, doing photography.
“The most loved thing about Glaswegians is they make me feel at home,” she says. “The way they respect and value me is more important than anything to me. I feel safe working with them. I love to call Glasgow, and Scotland, my home.”
Photo: Sadia with her two winning images (left and right)