Sara Khan, a British Pakistani, has actively campaigned for women’s rights within Muslim communities for over 18 years. She talks about both her work in the UK, and the influence and inspiration that the story of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan after she after campaigned for girls’ rights to education, has had on young girls both in Pakistan and Britain. Yousafzai has returned to school in Birmingham after being treated for her injuries in the UK.

Sara campaigns to raise awareness of issues faced by Asian women, who are more likely to suffer from depression then the rest of the British population, yet are least likely to seek help. She has campaigned to challenge growing narratives that Muslim women are barred from holding leadership positions and are confined to the private sphere. She talks both about her British identity and her Pakistani heritage and how these inform her work in Britain today.

Sara co-founded Inspire in 2009 to empower Muslim women and to help raise awareness of the inequalities that British Muslim women face.