For many African students abroad, black tax is not just a financial obligation—it is a quiet battle against exhaustion, guilt, and the ever-present fear of failure. The burden of being the family's economic backbone while juggling academic expectations.

Over time, Somali Sideways has developed into a multidimensional project that has also seen other publications, such as Somali Sideways: Photobook in Changing Perceptions of the Somalis and Somali Sideways: Women Stories, highlighting the vital roles women in Somali communities play.

Many displaced women in IDP camps report that they face severe challenges, such as inadequate access to menstrual hygiene products and increased vulnerability to gender-based violence.