Taban Shoresh is founder of the Lotus Flower, the non-profit empowering vulnerable women and girls affected by conflict and humanitarian crises, and an ambassador for the Global Youth Movement, One Young World. Taban’s remarkable story started in Kurdistan, where her family were amongst the many persecuted by Saddam Hussein’s regime in the Kurdish genocide. Her horrific ordeal saw Taban imprisoned at the age of just four and later, narrowly escaping a mass live burial. Coming to the UK as a refugee in 1988, Taban built her life here, later moving into asset management. But in 2014, amidst the persecution of the Yazidis by Islamic State, she turned her attention to humanitarian aid and peace-building, supporting survivors of genocide, and women and girls displaced by conflict. Listener discretion advised: this week’s episode includes references to challenging issues, including genocide, sexual and domestic abuse.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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