Interviews, inspiration and everyday advice to help you ‘Choose to Challenge’. A publication by CONTENTS Introduction 2 A Letter from Afrah 3 WILLWILL YOUYOU CHOOSECHOOSE A Chat With Sunetra Sarker 5 Everyday Activists: Community Women 8 Everyday Activists: Savera UK Youth 11 TOTO CHALLENGE?CHALLENGE? Challenging Harmful Practices: Tania’s Story 12 International Women’s Day is a global There are many ways that Q&A: Movema 13 day celebrating the social, economic, you can #ChooseToChallenge: Taking Control of Your Story 15 cultural and political achievements Take Action 17 of women. It is also a time to commit 1. Commit to learning and Increase Your Self-Belief 18 to making sure that all women’s understanding what is Our Sponsors: How We Choose to Challenge 19 voices are heard. The campaign meant by gender equality Recipes 21 theme for International Women’s Day 2. Recognise gender-based Colour Me In 23 2021, #ChooseToChallenge, asks you abuse and call it out Puzzle 24 to hold your hand up and speak out 3. Share what you have Write Your Own Choose to Challenge Statement 25 against gender bias and inequality. learned with a friend 4. Support women’s When most people think of the organisations and businesses word “activism”, they think of Publication compiled and edited by: street marches and large protests Shauna Lacy, Leah Kratschmann with placards. Although these Lasting change comes from the and Nikki Girvan. are valuable ways of making a many and not the few. Collectively, statement, everyday activism we can all choose to challenge. is just as effective in challenging an unequal world. It is everyone’s responsibility to stand up for equality and help change the world. 1 2 This year’s theme is ‘choose to challenge’ and her children after and if change is to be made, we must her husband’s death. A LETTER FROM challenge threats to gender equality and human rights every single day. She never left her village, but she was a woman AFRAH There isn’t just one way of challenging of great knowledge gender inequality and abuse. Activism and many skills. takes many forms and that is what this magazine intends to highlight - the She was and still is my many ways we can ‘choose to challenge’ ultimate role model and in our everyday lives, from having the inspiration. Just like my confidence to share our own stories, grandmother, I now choose or speak out against harmful practices, to challenge, when I know that to celebrating our beautiful and diverse things are not right. I choose cultures through dance, art or to challenge injustice and even cookery. gender inequality wherever I encounter it. To be an activist, you don’t have Each year we come together to be a public figure or march Join with us, be inspired through the streets with by others in our community, with our community to celebrate a placard. You can simply choose share your culture and International Women’s Day (IWD). to challenge through make your own ‘choose The fact that we usually celebrate your day-to-day actions. to challenge’ statement, I grew up with my Grandmother because together we after IWD is no mistake. It’s a in Yemen. She was a young can make a difference. conscious choice. You see, while widow who did not know how IWD is always an important event to read or write, with five children depending and one we engage in each year, on her, but she was we see it not as a one-off, but still able to challenge Afrah Qassim a starting point. and navigate her male- Savera UK CEO & Founder dominated environment to ensure that she was not cheated out of the land/farms that belonged to her 3 4 A CHAT WITH: You have been on TV since you were Activism is 15 years old, appearing on shows like Brookside, Casualty, No Angels SUNETRA just putting and now Ackley Bridge. When did you first realise how powerful your SARKER your hand up voice and opinions could be? “When I was doing Casualty, We caught up with Savera When did you become aware of the and speaking one episode had an FGM storyline. UK ambassador and star things you wanted to speak up for? This was a big turning point for me, “From about the age of 30 I started up for things because I was invited to speak about of Channel 4’s Ackley paying a lot more attention to the the issue in places where I didn’t Bridge, Sunetra Sarker, causes I wanted to support and the you believe in. normally get invited to speak, such about activism and using things I believed in. I’d look at both as on Radio 4. I realised then that I sides of the story, because if you had an extra voice that I could use our own platforms to don’t look at what the people on the to support ideas and beliefs that speak up about beliefs and opposite side of a debate or belief I thought people may need to see are saying you can’t really explain causes that matter to us. from another point of view. This in your views.” turn led me to being appointed as an ambassador for Savera UK, giving me Do you consider yourself How do you use your platform even further opportunity to speak to be an activist? as an actor to drive change? out against harmful practices.” “I never used to think I was an “I used to think my job was to learn activist. I think I was quite scared the lines and just act as the person of the word when I was younger, I was playing. Then, as I became because it felt like it was quite more of a household name, I realised aggressive, that you had to have I had another job as well. Being on quite an outspoken stance to be an TV gave me a profile and with that, activist. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve I had a chance to invite people started to understand what activism who liked my work, to hear what actually is. Activism is just putting I think about other things as well, your hand up and speaking up for things that they may not hear things you believe in. As you get about anywhere else. Being known older you start realising the things as an actor is a bit like having a you do believe in, and the things loudspeaker so you can speak to you definitely don’t believe in.” the whole street at once, instead of knocking on every individual door.” 5 6 There is still a fear EVERYDAYEVERYDAYEVERYDAY ACTIVISTS:ACTIVISTS:ACTIVISTS: COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITY WOMENWOMENWOMEN of speaking out Here in Merseyside, we are surrounded by many incredible women who are activists, choosing to challenge inequality and abuse. You can meet some of them here. Why do you think people still Sunetra’s top tips fear the idea of being an “activist” for everyday activism and how do we overcome this? 1. Go online and read articles/ Dee Abimbola, “I think that in today’s climate watch videos about topics that Development Manager, there is still a real fear about concern and/or interest you - really Rainbow 50+ Community Ibby Alasaly, calling people out. I feel like we understanding a topic will give you Organisation Business Owner, hear so much about people that the confidence to speak up about it Amani Services - Events get shouted down for saying “As a researcher and public speaker, something that other people 2. Use hashtags to find people and my interests in challenging gender “Many people are surprised when don’t agree with, that there groups with shared beliefs, who inequalities generally and within they see my all-female team arrive is a fear of speaking out and you can get involved with through African culture in particular span at venues as we carry big loads, build standing out. I think we can engaging, volunteering or donating more than three decades. Within stages on-site and drive big vans. overcome this by finding my role as Development Manager, We have had people make comments communities of like-minded people, 3. Share articles and videos with I promote the rights of women often about how it’s a man’s job to be lifting groups that advocate for the things your friends and use them to start overlooked within communities and how they are surprised girls can that you believe in. That way you conversations and cultures by: helping to develop lift and move so much. I also think can stand together and you’ll often a gender-equal and diversified that being a Muslim Yemeni Woman find that’s an easier starting point.” 4. Use social media to follow people organisation, raising awareness working in this sector and actively who align with your beliefs and share of unconscious bias, creating flexible speaking with men, has broken their message by retweeting or working hours for women, actively many barriers both in my community reposting from your channels encouraging aspirations of women and out. It’s broken down cultural, from BAME backgrounds and gender and religious barriers. People positively encouraging women see my business as real and me to tell their stories in a way that as a human being.” empowers them.” amaniservices.co.uk facebook.com/rainbow50somethings 7 8 EVERYDAY ACTIVISTS: COMMUNITY WOMEN CONTINUED Geraldine Judge, Aleasha Chaunte Joanne Tremarco, Advice Advocacy and Deborah Wintle-Escott, Freelance educator, & Service Support Co-Director, One September birth worker, artist and fool, Team Leader, FoolSize Theatre Irish Community Care (ICC) “We are a female led organisation rooted in our values which include “I run weekly sessions to support “ICC is a community organisation equality, inspiration and joy.