Hannah Rose Thomas – författare

In an election season, all political parties claim to champion freedom, which highlights the very different ways people think about what it means to be free. This issue of Plough Quarterly explores many dimensions of freedom: not only what people need to be freed from, but what we are set free to do. Contributors look at freedom in light of addiction, disability, asylum, religious liberty, modern slavery, dictatorship, conversion, workers’ rights, theology, the fine arts, and more.On this theme: Sohrab Ahmari reminds Christians of their long tradition of defending workers’ rights.Robert Donnelly reports on the welcome asylum seekers receive on the US southern border.Rosemarie Garland-Thomson considers the terrible freedom of choice a pregnant woman faces.John Barclay looks at freedom and slavery, metaphorical and literal, in the writings to Paul.Daniel J. Sims uncovers his own complicity and compromise in the global aid industry.Santiago Ramos realizes people living under dictatorship value books more than free people doJordan Castro recalls how he sought freedom in fiction and heroin, but found it elsewhere.Joonas Sildre shows how Arvo Pärt remained true to his art under Soviet rule.Pan Yongguang recounts how his church community escaped China together.Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art.

A celebrated young British artist uses her gift to convey the dignity and resilience of women survivors of violence in forgotten corners of the world.Winner, Books for Adults, 76th Annual Christopher AwardsGold Medal, 2025 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY)Silver Medal, 2025 IBPA Book AwardsThis debut art book by British artist and human rights activist Hannah Rose Thomas presents her stunning portrait paintings of Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity, Rohingya women who fled violence in Myanmar, and Nigerian women who survived Boko Haram violence, alongside their own words, stories, and self-portraits. A final chapter features portraits and stories of Afghan, Ukrainian, Uyghur, and Palestinian women. These portraits, depicting women from three continents and three religions, are a visual testimony not only of war and injustice but also of humanity and resilience. Many of the women have suffered sexual violence; all have been persecuted and forcibly displaced on account of their faith or ethnicity.Hannah Rose Thomas met these women in Iraqi Kurdistan, Bangladeshi refugee camps, and Northern Nigeria while organizing art projects to teach women how to paint their self-portraits as a way to reclaim their personhood and self-worth. She gives women their own voice both by creating a safe space for them to share their stories and by using her impressive connections to make sure their stories are heard in places of influence in the Global North. Thomas uses techniques of traditional sacred art – early Renaissance tempera and oil painting and gold leaf – to convey the sacred value of each of these women in spite of all that they have suffered. This symbolic restoration of dignity is especially important considering the stigma surrounding sexual violence. Hannah’s work attests to the power of the arts as a vehicle for healing, remembering, inclusion, and dialogue.Long after the news cameras have moved on to the next conflict, this book shines a spotlight on the ongoing work of healing and restoration in some of the most vulnerable and marginalized communities around the world. All publisher profits from this book will be donated to relevant charities.