IWD 2022: Elif Shafak Talk

A group of Middle School pupils attended a talk on Friday 11 March at Dulwich College by Elif Shafak. The talk was organised for International Women's Day 2022 by the Southwark Schools' Learning Partnership (SSLP).

Elif Shafak, a Turkish-British novelist born in France, spoke about her book How to Stay Sane In the Age of Division which was written during the pandemic and published by the Wellcome Collection. It is a short book that deals with the SSLP topic this year of Mental Health.

In her introduction, Ms Shafak spoke about her early life in France and Turkey and how she was able to experience people from all walks of life and from different age groups. She noted how young children of 6 and 7 years old were all the same, no matter where they came from, with no difference in confidence in girls and boys. But when she spoke to teenagers, it was remarkable how the girls had lost their confidence. So what happened to them? She stated that it must be our schools and society that impose gender rules and differences, not just on girls but also on those who did not conform to the traditional idea of masculinity.

As we heard in many of the careers talks this week, Ms Shafak, therefore, encouraged everyone to stay true to themselves, to avoid people who bring us down and to stay curious and mix with people from different backgrounds and experiences, to develop emotional intelligence and embrace the humanity in all of us. Books can help with this, she said, so that we can be exposed to other cultures and be transported out of our own worlds and comfort zones.

"We are all students of life. We must be good readers and be good listeners. To create fairness and equality we must stay open to others".

Following the talk, the SSLP pupil panel asked questions before the Q&A was opened up to the floor.