The Extraordinary Ordinary with Ayesha Aslam and Dame Maureen Lipman
Season 1, Episode 4, Nov 01, 2021, 06:00 AM
The Extraordinary Ordinary, the podcast from Women of the Year, shines a light on incredible achievements by women who you’ve probably never heard of (until now), but whose passion, dedication, and fierce determination has changed society, their communities and the world, in ways that will inspire and uplift you.
When Ayesha Aslam was studying psychology and counselling she was struck by the lack of inclusion of spirituality or culture in the training. After much research she devised her own model of counselling, combining mainstream approaches with Islamic perspective, and launched Sakoon, the first, and now leading, provider of Islamic counselling services in the UK.
Ayesha reflects on what it was like to go from being one of the few Muslims in the community she grew up in, in County Durham, to moving to multi-cultural London as a young teenager. She talks about the shame that used to be attached to people from the South Asian community seeking help for their problems and how attitudes towards mental health have changed over the years. And she shares the reservations her family initially had about her career choice and path.
In this episode we’re also joined by the wonderful actress, and long-time supporter of Women of the Year, Dame Maureen Lipman who reveals the yearly suggestion she makes to the Women of the Year team, but which is still to be taken up. And she discusses what she would like to see happening in the on-going challenge of establishing and maintaining true equality for women across the board.