FiLiA

Khadija Khan is a feminist, independent journalist and commentator. She is originally from Pakistan, but left the country after she criticised religious fundamentalism. Khadija now lives in Germany. Her work focuses on women's rights and secular critiques of Islam. She is joined in an important two-part series of conversations by Sadia Hameed: ex-Muslim, anti-theist and secular women's rights activist. 

Part 1 of 2

Follow Khadija on Twitter: @KhadijaKhan__

Sadia Hameed is Spokeswoman for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Great Britain

Follow Sadia on Twitter: @sadia936

Sheila Jeffreys became a feminist activist in 1973, and a lesbian feminist in 1977. She is the author of 10 books on the history and politics of sexuality, and is a Professorial Fellow in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She has been involved in many groups and campaigns against male violence towards women. Sheila's most recent book is Lesbian Revolution: Lesbian Feminism in the UK 1970-1990. On this podcast, she discusses her work with Heather Brunskell-Evans, touching on the scope, culture, ideas and practices of lesbian feminism, and the forces that led to the disappearance of the lesbian feminist movement. To quote Sheila: "Lesbian feminism is now rising again, and I hope that this book will provide fuel to that flame." 

Read: The Lesbian Revolution (available through News From Nowhere and others)

(Apologies for the poor sound quality - this was an online discussion and our fabulous volunteer did the very best that she could with the recording!)

Kendra Houseman is a survivor of child sexual exploitation and gangs. As a child, she always used to think that adults couldn’t see her. Kendra now works with children and young people at risk of child sexual exploitation and gangs, and trains and educates practitioners around the subject. She promotes greater awareness of the issues with her campaign #ICU, and was a key speaker for International Women's Day 2018. Follow Kendra's journey on her blog Out of the Shadows.

Follow Out of the Shadows on TWITTER

Hibo Wardere is a survivor of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) who spends her time working to ensure that no other girl will be subjected to the pain and long term physical and emotional damage it causes. She works in the UK and all over the world advising governments and teaching schools and health professionals about FGM.

In Somalia, where Hibo was born, 98% of women have been cut; it is most commonly practised in west, east and north Africa. It is also practised in parts of the Middle East and Asia, particularly Indonesia, but, with migration, girls in any country can be at risk. It is estimated there are 170,000 women and girls in England and Wales who have been affected by it, and 63,000 who are at risk.

Hibo talks about her own experience, the works she is involved now and why stopping FGM is everyone’s business. She will be talking in more detail on the Sunday of the FiLiA conference in 2018.

Follow Hibo on TWITTER