Rahila Gupta, Writer and Chair of Southall Black Sisters will ask whether women hold the key to the future.

The event will be chaired by Maryam Namazie.

Organised by CEMB and One Law for All.

Friday 6 March 2026. 7:00-8:30pm, Central London

Tickets: £5. Get tickets here.

Rahila Gupta is a freelance journalist, author and activist. Her latest book, Planet Patriarchy, co-written with Beatrix Campbell was published in July 2025. She is currently working on a history of feminism in the UK in the first quarter of the 21st century, British Feminism: Through the FiLiA Lens, due to be published in October 2025. Her poems and short stories have been published in several anthologies. Her books include: a collection of essays she edited, From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers: Southall Black Sisters in 2003; Provoked, the story of an abused woman who killed her violent husband and she co-wrote the screenplay of the film which was released in 2007; Enslaved, on immigration controls, was published in 2007; she edited and contributed to Turning the Page (2019), an anthology of writings by the Southall Black Sisters women’s group. Her play, a monologue in verse, Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong, ran in London, Edinburgh, New York, and four cities in India between 2012-14 and was nominated for a number of awards. The text was published in 2019. She was a member of the writing team on a BBC World Service drama series, Westway, from 2000-2002. She has written for the Guardian, New Humanist, New Internationalist and openDemocracy among other magazines, journals and websites. She was awarded the Flame Award by UKAFF (UK Asian Film Festival) for Championing Women’s Rights in 2018.

Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born campaigner and writer. She is Spokesperson of Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All. She is the instigator behind the Celebrating Dissent conferences, the largest gatherings of ex-Muslims in history since 2014. During decades of activism, Maryam has organised numerous actions, including #Hair4Freedom and #BodyRiot in support of women in Iran, executive produced Women Leaving Islam and published The Woman’s Quran. Maryam and the CEMB have been featured in a 2016 film by Deeyah Khan called ‘Islam’s Non-Believers.’ She was also a character in DV8 Physical Theatre ‘Can We Talk About This?’ Maryam is winner of numerous awards.