Central Foundation schoolgirl’s ‘freedom’ poem being broadcast to the nation on BBC

Teenager Seema Begum’s strong poem on her thoughts about identity, freedom and being a Muslim woman in east London has been chosen to be broadcast nationwide on the BBC.

The 16-year-old from Central Foundation Girls’ School in Bow wrote the poem when she was 14 after being inspired he nationduring a ‘slam’ poetry workshop.

The poem was published earlier this year in an anthology of British Muslim women’s work, The Things I Would Tell You, which was launched at Waterstone’s in Piccadilly.

Seema was asked at the launch in April what inspired her to write such a strong piece.

“Women are often told, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that’,” she said. “The workshop allowed me to express my thoughts around these issues and I felt inspired to put my thoughts down.”

Her poem, Uomini Cadranno, Italian for ‘Men will Fall’, explores identity, the sense of belonging and women’s empowerment.

The anthology’s editor, Sabrina Mahfouz, who ran the slam poetry workshop at Central Foundation, reads Seema’s poem in the Radio 4 broadcast on October 15.

Sabrina recalls: “The class was one of the most engaged I’ve ever taught—their feelings on freedom, social justice and equality were palpable and inspiring.”

The anthology also includes work by renowned writer Imtiaz Dharker and other notable women writers.