Tomorrow sees the announcement of the winners of the Young Muslim Writers awards, a rare opportunity for schoolchildren to express themselves against negative media portrayals
Fourteen-year-old Shebana Khan, from Walthamstow, north London, writes poetry in her spare time as a way to express herself. She might be softly spoken, but she certainly doesn’t hold back. When she recites her poetry, she speaks quickly and rhythmically, punching the air to accentuate her words.
She is a pupil at the Lammas school and sixth form in Waltham Forest, one of London’s most deprived boroughs, and has performed her poetry at the Houses of Parliament. Earlier this year she entered one of her poems, The Circus of Lies, into the Young Muslim Writers awards.
Every child matters and every child deserves to be educated, regardless of faith, race and colour
Statistics show the academic achievements of children from Bangladeshi and Pakistani backgrounds are lower
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