Main content

Jasvinder Sanghera

Kirsty Young interviews Jasvinder Sanghera, campaigner against forced marriage and so-called honour violence.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer and campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera.

She has counselled government and travelled widely advising on how to put a stop to forced marriage and so called honour violence.

At 14, Jasvinder was shown a picture of the stranger thousands of miles away she was to marry and in the face of intimidation she fled her family, chose her own husbands and gained a first class degree. Her books have shone a piercing light on the veiled world of shame, brutality and coercion that some young women endure whilst Karma Nirvana, the pioneering charity she set up and runs, offers refuge and practical help.

She says, "my life has had to take paths where responsibility was the key thing. Now I'm at a point in my life where I'm more content than I've ever been. I've reconciled the disownment."

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 29 Mar 2013 09:05

Music Played

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Apna Sangeet

      Mera Yaar Vajaye Dhol

      • Mera Yaar.
      • Serengeti Sirocco.
  • Bob Marley & The Wailers

    Jamming

    • ΄³²Ή³Ύ³ΎΎ±²Τ’.
    • Universal-Island Records Limited.
  • Stevie Wonder

    Part-Time Lover

    • Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection CD1.
    • Universal-Island Records Limited.
  • R.E.M.

    Losing My Religion

    • The Best Of REM: In Time 1988-2003.
    • Warner Music UK Limited.
  • Maxwell

    This Woman’s work

    • Now.
    • Columbia.
  • Lionel Richie & Diana Ross

    Endless Love

    • Just the Two of Us.
    • Epic.
  • Ye

    Jesus Walks

    • The College Dropout.
    • Roc-A-Fella Records.
  • Yusuf Islam

    Moon Shadow

    • Cat Stevens: Greatest Hits.
    • Universal-Island Records Limited.
  • Book Choice

    • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

  • Luxury Choice

    • Her father's milk churn

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Jasvinder Sanghera

Broadcasts

  • Sun 24 Mar 2013 11:15
  • Fri 29 Mar 2013 09:05

Featured in...

The Desert Island Discs podcast

The Desert Island Discs podcast

Subscribe or download individual episodes.

Listen to over 2,000 programmes

Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.

Articles

Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.

Podcast