Meet the Mancunian-8.6- Shanaz Hussain transcript

Intro

Welcome to Season 8 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester. A warm Mancunian welcome from your host, Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe. Thank you for joining me today.

Every Tuesday, I bring you the stories of Manchester's unsung heroes. The individuals who help to create positive change in our community. My aim is to inspire you, dear listener, to follow your own passions, whether through volunteering or working in the social impact sector. I'm also keen to spotlight good causes and create more awareness and support for them.

 Whether you are tuning in on Apple Podcast or Spotify or on my website, www.meetthemancunian.co.uk, get ready for a season filled with inspiring tales of social impact within our beloved city.

Episode 6 Overview

Welcome to the sixth episode of Season Eight of the Meet the Mancunian Podcast:social impact stories from Manchester.

Passionate about supporting education in the community, we hear from Shanaz Hussain, Network Leader, Women's Ed Northwest, in this episode.

In Shanaz's own words,

[00:01:13] Shanaz Hussain: I think it was roughly about two years ago, I was asked by one of the network leaders, Nassima Riazat, a network leader for the Northwest, and now she is involved more widely in the United Kingdom with the Women Ed movement.

She asked me if I would be the keynote speaker to a conference that they was hosting and that was my first interaction. I hadn't heard of the Women Ed Network prior to that, and I didn't know a great deal about it. So I had the privilege of being a keynote speaker at this event.

[00:01:46] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much, Shanaz, for joining me today and on such a beautiful day.

[00:01:50] Shanaz Hussain: I'm absolutely delighted to be here.

Shanaz's Early Passion for Supporting Women

[00:01:53] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us first about how you found your passion for supporting women. When did that start?

[00:01:58] Shanaz Hussain: I think that started from a very early age. I always had this passion to support women, to fight inequality, to challenge stereotypes, and that's something that has grown throughout my career.

Prior to becoming extremely busy, I was running a group for women and children in the local town where I live. I was bringing together women from different aspects of life from different communities. And we engage in lots of really positive activities.

I was running the group. If somebody came to me and said we really would like to improve our literacy skills, our numeracy skills, our IT skills. We would like to sit our GCSE in English or in mathematics. Or we'd like to do self defence for women. Please could you make that happen?

Successes and Challenges of the Women's Group

[00:02:53] Shanaz Hussain: I worked with a team of amazing women, and we would put on lots of different activities that were empowering women, giving women a voice and helping them in their day to day lives. and to improve outcomes for them and their families. The group was very successful. And we won lots of national awards.

And unfortunately, about 10 years ago, when my career became really busy and I didn't have the time to devote to that group, we decided that it was time to leave that group for a while because nobody else had the time or were able to take responsibility for leading the group. So, it's hugely successful.

I quite often bump into some of the ladies who are involved in the group and they talk about their experiences and how the confidence, self-esteem and the skills that they built during the time that they were involved in the group has really helped them in their everyday lives. So, it's a wonderful feeling.

[00:03:58] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much for sharing that your passion came from, wanting to find a level playing field and battle inequality. Out of interest, where are you based?

[00:04:07] Shanaz Hussain: I'm based in the Ribble Valley. When I first started the group, I would say that there was a group in the Ribble Valley who were creating lots and lots of divisions, creating lots of hatreds, discouraging groups from different ethnic backgrounds, from mixing. And one of the most powerful tools of the group was to bring together women from different backgrounds.

I will never ever forget this, was about 30 years ago, where I'd brought a group of mums together who came to a social gathering. And one of my Asian heritage mums who had four children, was very busy in the day to day running of her household and didn't have the opportunity to really meet.

She came to me and thanked me, and said she was absolutely delighted to meet lots of other women because she realised at that moment in time that despite your background, despite your colour, despite your religion, despite any of the barriers that society places on us, as a mum we have the same worries, we have the same fears, we have the same anxieties, and we have so much to celebrate and so much in common. So that to me was very powerful.

[00:05:21] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I think so, this whole concept that we are more in common than divides us is so true, isn't it?

[00:05:27] Shanaz Hussain: Absolutely. Like I said I will never, ever forget the moment when the mum thanked me and said thank you. You have really shattered lots of misconceptions that I had. And that friendship between the two mums has continued, far beyond that group's existence. So, from a very early age, I've always been very interested in empowering women.

And again, my own mum is an inspirational role model. She came to the United Kingdom when she was 16. She didn't know anybody. She didn't speak the language and she was a very powerful and is still a very powerful influence in my life.

[00:06:06] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: More power to our mums.

[00:06:08] Shanaz Hussain: Absolutely.

Involvement with WomenEd

[00:06:09] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us about how you got involved with WomenEd. You are a network leader for the Northwest for WomenEd. So tell us more about it and your specific role there.

[00:06:19] Shanaz Hussain: I think it was roughly about two years ago, I was asked by one of the network leaders, Nassima Riazat, a network leader for the Northwest, and now she is involved more widely in the United Kingdom with the Women Ed movement.

She asked me if I would be the keynote speaker to a conference that they was hosting and that was my first interaction. I hadn't heard of the Women Ed Network prior to that, and I didn't know a great deal about it. So, I had the privilege of being a keynote speaker at this event.

And it was through the event that I met so many inspirational women. It was a wonderful opportunity to, for me to find out more about this global network meeting and also to meet the other Northwest. We've got lots of women who are very active in the North West.

And recently, I think you've interviewed Victoria McKinley? And she's also been welcomed into the network as a network leader. So I had the opportunity to meet lots of inspirational women who told me a lot more about the movement and what they are trying to achieve. And that was the start of our relationship.

In addition, through the Women Ed Network, I am currently completing my an apprenticeship in coaching and that has been funded through the Women Ed Movement and I'm doing that with the CVP group. And it was on the conference as a keynote speaker that I had the privilege of meeting Yasmin Arif who I'm now working closely with and I'm completing the apprenticeship. Just one phone call that opened up a whole new world to me and gave me the opportunity to meet some inspirational women leaders in education.

[00:08:11] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you. And both Vicky and Yasmin have been guests on the podcast, so really good to know about that.

You've talked about your involvement with WomenEd and how that started and how it's developed. But specifically, what is it that you and WomenEd are trying to do currently?

[00:08:29] Shanaz Hussain: Thank you.

Current Activities and Challenges

[00:08:30] Shanaz Hussain: Lots of activities are taking place with the Women Ed North West movement. Please follow us on Twitter, just to get a flavour of what's happening. As you are aware, I'm currently a headteacher of a large secondary school in Blackburn and I have to confess I haven't been as actively involved as I would like to.

My role in school is intrinsically rewarding but it also doesn't leave me a great deal of free time to be involved in other things. So I know, currently, we're in the process of organising a conference and there's a few events that are going to be taking place. So please follow us on Twitter. All of the events and the activities that are taking place are highlighted through Twitter and through the Women Ed website.

[00:09:18] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What are the challenges that you faced on this journey of supporting women, whether it be from the community work you were doing earlier or now through what women Ed and you are trying to do.

[00:09:29] Shanaz Hussain: I think in the early days, I mentioned that my group is based in the Ribble Valley. There were lots of challenges, as I've already alluded to, from individuals in the community who were creating division, who were stirring up tension, who were trying to divide and conquer. So that was a challenge in the early days, but once the women had the opportunity to meet, they realised that all of the divisions were created deliberately.

And as I've already said, we had more in common and we had more to celebrate as women. Now I think there are still lots of challenges. Challenges of people having stereotypes and views about how women should behave and it's challenging those stereotypes and opening doors and providing opportunities.

So in my role, I'm very privileged and very blessed to be leading a school, it's empowering other women leaders to take up opportunities to fulfil any dreams and aspirations that they have. And because I have the privilege of working in a school where we have a high proportion of disadvantaged students, we have lots of deprivation.

It is really exciting to be able to provide opportunities to young people, especially our girls, and to instil in them a conviction, a determination, and a passion and a belief that the world is their oyster and through hard work and determination absolutely anything is possible. I always say that my school is a school where dreams come true.

I know that children have suffered lots of disadvantage and deprivation and hardship before they arrive, and I strongly believe that once they arrive, I want them to have every single opportunity so they can go on and fulfil their ambitions and stereotypes.

So some of the barriers for my children are poverty. Obviously in the current climate, I know that lots and lots of families are struggling, they have digital poverty, they suffer from hardship in lots of ways. So providing those opportunities for my young people is really important.

And I know that in school, we work with lots of partners. I work with lots of amazing staff who I know go above and beyond to remove some of the barriers that exist in society for our young people and especially for our women.

[00:12:10] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you very much for sharing that.

Impact and Opportunities

[00:12:12] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: When you think about the impact that you made, And I’d like you to talk about a little bit about Women Ed impact, as well as the impact for your school. Can you share some of that?

[00:12:23] Shanaz Hussain: The impact in school I feel is very powerful. I work with lots of talented and amazing individuals who go above and beyond to support young people, providing them with an outstanding academic education, as well as lots of opportunities to enhance their cultural skills and provide them with enrichment opportunities.

So removing those barriers, in school working with talented staff and also very talented young people who I know leave my Blackburn Central High School and go on to do amazing things in the future. That's very powerful and that's very rewarding.

Also, working with Women Ed has really opened my eyes to the world. Lots of amazing opportunities that exist there for women. I've already mentioned that I'm currently completing my apprenticeship in coaching through CVP, which is funded by the Women Ed Movement.

I know this week I had a wonderful visit from Victoria, who came into my school, and I've made links with other amazing women who are on similar journeys. So that opportunity to be able to share my experience, to be able to take my mask off to talk to other women has been really powerful and very enriching and also through the Women Ed movement, pointing women into different opportunities that they can take advantage of. So I know that when we had the conference, there was lots of really powerful workshops.

There's lots through the Women Ed Network, there's been lots of opportunities which are regularly shared. I know this week Bella's organised a careers workshop. in Manchester which will be taking place. We'll hear about wellbeing opportunities, about networking opportunities, about the opportunity to attend global conferences, national conferences, listen to other inspirational women speakers.

[00:14:31] Shanaz Hussain: So there are lots and lots of opportunities to network and find out about all the activities that are taking place up and down the country to support women leaders in education. This week, we had a very interesting and enlightening workshop that was led by Vivian who is the founder of the Women Ed Network Movement, where she talked about the gender pay gap.

So again, lots of information sharing, lots of empowering, lots of opportunities to network, and lots of opportunities to meet other inspirational leaders. My only regret is, and I'm going to be honest, I wish I had more time to be involved more actively. But as I've already mentioned, the role that I do during the day and in the evening and at the weekends doesn't allow me much free time to be as active as I would like.

[00:15:28] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for talking about the impact that you're making both through your school, as well as through WomenEd, for all the amazing work and the opportunities to develop women leaders in education.

Is there a common myth in your job or field of expertise, so we talked a little bit about stereotypes before, is there something you want to myth bust?

[00:15:50] Shanaz Hussain: I have the opportunity to meet lots of other women leaders, and in Blackburn, I lead the school improvement group of secondary headteachers within that network. There are lots and lots of amazing women leaders who I have the opportunity to connect with.

I've already mentioned I'm a head teacher. I'm a network leader for Women Eds North West. I run the secondary head school improvement group. I'm a vice chair of a local trust. I'm vice chair of the governing body of one of my local primary schools in Blackburn.

On top of that, I am a wife, I am a mother, I'm a daughter, I'm a sister. I'm a Muslim female who is practice her faith. And I just want to prove to other women and especially the girls who are students in my school that you can be successful, you can achieve everything with hard work and determination. I feel that I lead a very fulfilling life where I'm able to complete my roles and responsibilities and my duties to all of those different individuals and organisations that I've mentioned.

[00:17:09] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Absolutely. I think the message is that you can be anything you want to be. Just keep focused and you can get there.

[00:17:16] Shanaz Hussain: Absolutely. Like I said, hard work and determination. I've already mentioned that when my mum arrived in the United Kingdom, she didn't speak a word of English. She was very isolated. And at the beginning she was quite lonely. But what she proved through her life, and she's still proving that with hard work and determination, you can absolutely achieve anything. And that's the message that I hope I convey to all of the people that I'm surrounded by.

Advice and Personal Reflections

[00:17:46] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What advice would you have for people looking to start a similar movement in their local community? If they want to support women leaders or if they want to support young people, how do they get started?

[00:17:57] Shanaz Hussain: I think it's really important to follow your passion and to meet other like-minded individuals. So at the time that I set up the group, I was at home. I was bringing up my children and I have always been very active in the local community. So through the interactions that I had at preschool, going to mother and toddler groups and going to other groups, I was very proactive.

I spoke to lots of other women. We shared our stories. I was quite open and quite honest about the challenges that I was facing, and I realised that there were lots of other women who are in a very similar situation who valued those really positive connections and those opportunities to talk and share their experiences.

And I think it originated from there. From being honest, from being true to yourself and true to your soul, not trying to kid anybody and be somebody that you're not. Demonstrating that vulnerability, I think there is so much pressure on all people, especially women, that quite often people feel that they have to wear a mask and by removing that mask, I was able to share my own experiences and I realised that there were so many other women who had similar experiences and who were feeling the same way that I was feeling at that time, 30 years ago, when my children were little.

[00:19:22] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that and I think lots of great advice about, removing that mask, connecting with people, following your passions.

An opportunity for you to now talk about anything I haven't asked you about anything else.

[00:19:34] Shanaz Hussain: I would say that the Women Ed Movement is an absolutely amazing movement, and we are always looking for volunteers. We'd be delighted to welcome women leaders to come and join us and to find out more about the Women Ed movement.

 I've mentioned the Women Ed movement, but I'm very passionate about empowering young people and providing them with lots of opportunities to go out there. and be the best that they possibly can be. So I would always advise anybody, there's always groups who are looking for volunteers.

I know that in my local community there's lots of groups that I hope in the future I'm able to be involved in, but I know that the Women Ed movement group in particular is always looking for volunteers. So please Google us, please find out more about us, and I know that we would very much welcome volunteers to come and join us.

[00:20:32] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you Shanaz.

Signature Questions and Outro

[00:20:34] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Signature questions now that I ask all my guests. So the first one is, if Manchester was a colour, what colour would you think it would be and why?

[00:20:43] Shanaz Hussain: I would say green. Green represents new beginnings, opportunities, nature, growth, renewal. I think green has very calming attributes. It represents prosperity.

I know that when I was involved in youth work many years ago, in my local area, there were very few opportunities for young people. And for them, a place like Manchester represented prosperity growth and opportunities. So I would say definitely green.

[00:21:17] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And it's very much reflected by the beautiful spring and summer weather, where there's a lot of beautiful flowers and plants and green things around us.

If you could choose a famous landmark in Manchester to represent you, which one would it be and why?

[00:21:34] Shanaz Hussain: Oh, as soon as you've mentioned famous landmark, there's one landmark that immediately springs to mind and that would have to be the John Rylands Library. About a decade ago when I completed my master's degree through the Open University, I used to spend lots of time in the John Rylands Library.

I absolutely despite the fact that I was working towards deadlines. I loved being in the library. I love the atmosphere. I love the architecture. I love the smell of books. I just love the whole ethos and atmosphere that was in the library and that is a landmark that I really cherish and have happy memories of in Manchester.

[00:22:20] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Very much on my list of places to go.

If you could trade lives with someone in Manchester for a day, who would it be with and why?

[00:22:28] Shanaz Hussain: Okay, so one figure that immediately springs to mind is Emmeline Pankhurst. Obviously her political activism and determination help women win the right to vote. She inspires us all to challenge gender inequality.

Her tenacity and perseverance are still felt today through those who protest to stand against inequality and injustice as is happening all around the world today. So she's a figure I would love to trade places with for a day just to have an injection of her activism, her tenacity, her perseverance and her ability to make the change that she made for women in the United Kingdom.

[00:23:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Very popular on the podcast and absolutely for the right reasons because such a big influence on women across the UK.

What's the most important life lesson you learned?

[00:23:29] Shanaz Hussain: Most important life lesson I've learned is always to be true to yourself. I feel very much in all the roles that I have. The volunteer roles, the roles in my family, the roles in my day-to-day work. I feel very much that I'm governed by a higher authority. So by being true to myself, I'm always conscious of the fact that all of my actions, my physical actions, the way I behave, the manner in which I speak, the words that I utter are governed by a higher authority.

And it's not what I do when I'm in the public domain, it's what I do when I'm on my own, that's equally as important because by being true to myself, I am always conscious of that higher authority that governs every single action that I take. I think it's very important to be true to oneself and to do things that bring your soul joy and happiness.

[00:24:30] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Holding ourselves to a very high standard, so really important.

[00:24:35] Shanaz Hussain: Absolutely.

[00:24:36] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: The most important personality trait someone would need to work in your industry?

[00:24:40] Shanaz Hussain: The most important personality trait is to have that passion and that determination to help other people, including young people, children, women and others to succeed and achieve academic success or success in their personal lives and ultimately that fulfilment and joy. So to have that passion and that conviction and that inner belief and that desire to, to help others to, to succeed and achieve positive outcomes in all aspects of their life.

[00:25:18] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thanks for sharing that. How can interested people reach out to you and how can they find WomenAid?

[00:25:24] Shanaz Hussain: Thank you. At the end of the podcast, you will receive details of how you can get in touch. So obviously I'm on LinkedIn, I'm on Twitter, I'm on social media, although I don't have the time to go on there as much as I would like to. I do check my messages regularly, so please feel free to get in touch with me via the platforms that I've just mentioned.

Outro

Shenaz, I really enjoyed learning about supporting education today.

Dear listener, thank you so much for listening to the sixth episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, Season Eight.

Tune in every Tuesday for a new episode or log on to www.meetthemancunian.co.uk to listen to all the episodes and learn more about my podcasting story.

Next week on Tuesday, 16th July 2024, I speak to Paul Urmsten about supporting health and fitness in the community.

Thank you for joining me on the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester. I hope today's conversation has sparked new ideas and inspired you to act in your community. A big thank you to my wonderful community for your continuous support and valuable feedback. Your stories shape the very essence of my podcast, driving me forward with purpose.

I'm eager to hear your thoughts. Visit my website at meetthemancunian.co.uk to share your insights. And remember, this podcast is your platform too. And remember, this podcast is your platform too.

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Keep fostering connections and always remember the power to change the world lies within each of us. Until next time.