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Magnificent Midlife


Oct 22, 2020

Iffat Shahnaz is a lifelong campaigner committed to social justice and equality. She works with organisations committed to social change and tackling social exclusion and discrimination. She specialises in gender-based violence, community education, facilitation, service development and change management.

We talk about:

  • How Iffat became so passionate about social justice
  • The legacy of her parents and their story as children of partition
  • Being the child of immigrants from the former commonwealth
  • The family trauma that lead to Iffat wanting to make the world a better place for everyone
  • Going back to her parents’ village in India
  • The lack of safe passage when people are facing displacement, at the time of partition and now
  • Why her father was so keen that she should learn to swim
  • How the family managed to get to England from Pakistan
  • Racial abuse growing up in the West Midlands in school and on the street
  • Feeling hopeful despite systemic discrimination
  • The impact of Covid and the Black Lives Matter movement on global awareness of discrimination
  • Getting more aware of what is going on and the importance of speaking up
  • Confronting racism wherever we find it
  • The importance of being anti-racist instead of just not racist
  • Acknowledging that we are different and that being colour-blind just doesn’t work
  • Understanding racism in the UK and how it differs to the US
  • ‘Good’ and ‘bad’ immigrants
  • The more insidious nature of racism in the UK today
  • How Covid has highlighted so many social justice-related and inequality issues
  • The disproportionate impact of Covid on BAME (Black and minority ethnic) communities
  • How Iffat feels about turning 50 this year
  • Growing our own wisdom as we age and having more of an impact on society as we get older

And more!

Find out more about Iffat:

Linkedin and Twitter

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You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That’s also where you’ll find strategies, support and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There’s a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter and our online Members Club. If not now, when?