Authentic Achievements with Special Guest Lady Guli Sheikh
In this episode of “Authentic Achievements,” host Kim-adele Randall sits down with the remarkable Lady Guli Sheikh, whose journey is nothing short of inspirational. From her marriage to Lord Mohamed Sheikh, a member of the House of Lords, to her academic pursuits at Oxford University’s Said Business School, Lady Sheikh’s story is one of resilience, compassion, and unwavering dedication to empowering women in Central Asia. Lady Sheikh chose a path of service and advocacy.
Her online school, a beacon of hope for women in Central Asia, provides free education and empowers them to break societal barriers. Her commitment to gender equality and education extends beyond the classroom as she tirelessly works with governments and organisations to promote leadership and business management among women in the region. But Lady Sheikh’s impact doesn’t stop there. Her humanitarian efforts have touched the lives of countless individuals, from orphans and people with disabilities to victims of domestic violence.
Through her charitable work and speaking engagements at international conferences, she advocates for a world where everyone can access education and opportunity regardless of their circumstances. As an entrepreneur, Lady Sheikh has made a name for herself and created opportunities for others. She founded enterprises like “The London College of English” in Tashkent and “The Silk Route Global Trading Company” in the UK, bridging cultures and promoting economic empowerment for Central Asian artisans. Her business ventures are a testament to her vision and commitment to making a difference.
Join us as we delve into Lady Guli Sheikh’s multifaceted journey as a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and champion for gender equality. Her story serves as a beacon of hope and a reminder of the transformative power of compassion and action.
Founder of The Silk Route Global Ltd. London www.silkrouteglobal.co.uk
Founder of The London College Of English www.londoncollegeenglish.com
Founder of Women’s Leadership www.womensleader.com
Ambassador for Nazari Digar charity organisation Philanthropist
Entrepreneur Art Designer Chairman CEO Director An Artist (Painter) YouTube / @ladysheikh
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[Music]
0:05[Applause]
0:07hello and welcome to today’s episode of
0:09authentic achievements where is my
0:11absolute privilege and Delight to be
0:13joined by The Fabulous lady Shake lady
0:16Shake
0:17welcome H thank you for inviting me and
0:21hello to you I’m so looking forward to
0:24this we had the I had the privilege of
0:26meeting you as part of the UK un women
0:29um as csw 68 and I was thrilled when you
0:33agreed to come on but before we go
0:35deeper into our conversation let me tell
0:38the audience a little bit more about you
0:40so lady Shake is a trailblazing advocate
0:43for women’s empowerment education and
0:46humanitarian Aid marrying Lord Muhammad
0:49Sheik in 2018 she embarked on a journey
0:52of impact graduating the following year
0:54in strategic management and Leadership
0:57from Oxford University Sade Business
0:59School she established an online school
1:01offering free education to Central Asian
1:04women a staunch promoter of gender
1:07equality she collaborates with
1:09governments and speaks at International
1:11forums her fanthropic efforts extend to
1:14aiding orphans the disabled and victims
1:17of domestic violence lady Sheik’s
1:20entrepreneurial Ventures include the
1:22London College of English and the silk
1:24root Global fostering cultural exchange
1:27and economic opportunities through her
1:30diverse roles she inspires positive
1:31change worldwide and that’s just the tip
1:33of the iceberg you do so so much more so
1:37can you start by telling us what
1:39motivates you lady Sheik uh thank youWhat motivates you
1:43Adel um so when I was younger um I was
1:49bullied at school uh I saw men abusing
1:53women and I saw a bad attitude towards
1:58women made me think at a young
2:03age I used to ask myself if I get
2:07married would I have the same life that
2:11the women the other women have
2:14now uh where I would have no rights and
2:18no freedom to do what I want would I
2:22have to put up with the men’s
2:25attitudes I said to myself no I don’t
2:29want that I so I decided to see what
2:33life was like in uh rest of the world
2:38and uh show the people who called me
2:41with funny names that I’m not that girl
2:45they always taught and laughed at and
2:50bullied uh I said to myself I’ve I will
2:54build myself up and show what I can
2:58achieve so I I came to London to study
3:02in
3:042006 I saw more freedom and
3:07opportunities here also people are more
3:10tolerant and I settled here uh I now
3:16want to educate people back in Central
3:19Asia there is an
3:21alternative I believe we can have more
3:26equal world where gender and race are
3:31not important for education and so not
3:35important for
3:38careers wow me what what a story and I’m
3:42really sorry to hear that you were
3:43bullied I think shouldn’t be say it’s
3:46not it’s not even bullied it’s I mean I
3:49face racism as well to be honest well I
3:53I mean I’ve been treated very um bad I
3:58still remember yeah I was very strong
4:02y’ and and that shows I mean you took
4:05that adversity and and turned into a
4:08positive turned it into a motivator to
4:11move on and live a life that you want
4:15rather than a life that’s forced on you
4:18you’ve already done so much but what
4:20would you say has taught you the
4:23most um uh just seeing how things uh
4:28working in this country
4:31we have U more freedom of speech we have
4:35uh freedom to choose freedom to act
4:38freedom to be what we want and that
4:41makes uh being in this uh country
4:46educational um so education is not just
4:48a formal education it’s it is living and
4:53I lived in two different cultures and
4:57this has shown me many things
5:00uh well I can see uh the need for
5:04equality in modern world and U any
5:09country wants to be a part of the modern
5:12world uh must promote
5:15equality um men should help women and
5:20women should help men into equal
5:23partnership at home and uh at
5:28work um so women you see the women
5:31leaders are becoming more uh prominent
5:34in Liberal Democratic
5:37countries uh like if you if we H look
5:41back the UK has had three female prime
5:45ministers uh while the US has not yet
5:50had a female
5:52president so this emphasizes the
5:55importance of progress towards gender
5:59equality in
6:02leadership the UK’s success in this area
6:07is commendable and uh uh serves as an
6:11example for others for other
6:15countries it’s so true we saw didn’t we
6:18through um covid some of the some of the
6:21countries that really succeeded were
6:23being led by women at the time and that
6:26ability to connect um with empathy and
6:30emotion at times of Crisis and as you
6:33say it really is about us working
6:36together in Partnership to ensure that
6:38we are making it an inclusive place
6:42where all voices are equal is the dream
6:45isn’t it yes yes indeed yes so what
6:50would you say of all the things you’ve
6:52done is your greatest achievement so
6:56far um my greatest Achi achievement uh IWhat is your greatest achievement
7:00am able to talk to the leaders of this
7:04country and other countries I can meet
7:09and discuss the women’s issues with them
7:13uh I can highlight the problem they may
7:17not see and we can work together to make
7:21a better world for everyone regardless
7:23of gender or
7:26race uh while I’m promoting women
7:29women’s education at the moment one day
7:32I hope that my educational program will
7:36be for men and woman equally and true
7:40equality will be the
7:42result uh educated men on the program
7:47the women are I think equal this is what
7:52uh I believe it was my greatest
7:56achievement and what an achievement to
7:58have because education is the
8:01Cornerstone isn’t it the more that we
8:03can learn and understand each other
8:06better the more opportunity we have to
8:09grow together so I love that you’re
8:12investing your purpose your mission in
8:16making that more readily available to
8:18people who otherwise probably wouldn’t
8:21be given the
8:24opportunity so if you could if you could
8:27go back and give younger self any advice
8:31what would it
8:33be my younger selfAny advice for younger self
8:36advice so um I would tell myself to keep
8:42moving forward don’t be afraid of
8:45anything just work hard on yourself to
8:48achieve your goals and don’t let anyone
8:52stop you to achieving what you think is
8:55possible to do so I always say that I I
8:59make my own rules and nobody has the
9:03right to make or change my
9:07rules uh wherever you go you will face
9:11some obstacles in life but you will get
9:15through them to do so you need to
9:19believe in
9:20yourself I believe in myself and I will
9:24encourage others as well to believe in
9:28yourself and so remember no problem is
9:32permanent and insolvable everything can
9:36happen given time so um educate yourself
9:42and keep educating
9:44yourself remember life is a continuous
9:48learning
9:49experience there is always something new
9:53and interesting around the next corner
9:57so we must not stop in one place we
10:01should always work hard on ourself and
10:05work hard to achieve whatever we want
10:09and we will
10:10achieve I love that it reminds me my my
10:13grandma used to say that every day is a
10:16school day in that in every day we
10:18should learn something um and you’re so
10:21right you know sometimes when we get
10:22stuck with a problem we think it’s
10:24insurmountable and it’s going to last
10:26forever and yet every one of us
10:29listening in watching this today has
10:32survived 100% of the challenges that
10:34they’ve had thrown at them so far that’s
10:37quite a good batting average to to kind
10:40of trust yourself that you will get over
10:42the next one isn’t it yes yes I thinkTrust yourself
10:45the main point is we have to trust
10:47ourself first of all when we trust
10:50ourself um we can achieve uh whatever we
10:54want it’s it’s about trusting ourself
10:57and you shouldn’t you know uh think
11:00negative because I know I you know when
11:03I we talk about you know achieving your
11:07goals or
11:09self-confidence when I speak with women
11:12usually they don’t have confidence and
11:14they don’t trust themselves so I try to
11:18you know um um Empower them I try to
11:21push them to first of all you need to
11:24you know trust yourself startop trusting
11:27yourself and that’s where you you have
11:29to start somewhere so first you start
11:32trusting yourself and that’s where you
11:34will start seeing lots of things and you
11:38can go for this one go for that one you
11:40can then choose and you can build up
11:43yourself to achieve your fut goals I
11:47love that I love that actually the
11:49essence of it what you’re also sharing
11:51with them is your belief in them and
11:53that can really help people when they’re
11:55struggling to find that belief in
11:58themselves to have some like you to give
12:01them your belief to tell them that they
12:03should trust themselves that they can
12:06achieve what they want to achieve that
12:08there it is within them to do so and it
12:11will be lifechanging for lots of people
12:14because we all need
12:17that support sometimes don’t we that
12:19that’s something else to to to um give
12:22us the courage to keep going and to step
12:26into the into the unknownSupport each other
12:30yeah I I also encourage like you know um
12:33last last night we had uh you know big
12:37gathering with the uh un women UK so H
12:42it was quite challenging so we were
12:45talking about like women should
12:47encourage women and you know sometimes
12:51we get a area where women get can’t see
12:55each other they have like jealousy
12:57between them so when they see someone um
13:01kind of intelligent and wise person they
13:05will see her as a threat you see and
13:09they will try to um kind of stop her or
13:14maybe um they try to uh create issues
13:19for that person or they will try to keep
13:22her out of everything but it shouldn’t
13:24be this way I believe we should you know
13:27help each other uh
13:29I mean it doesn’t matter who you are we
13:32should support each other women should
13:35support women and men also support women
13:38and women should support men as well we
13:41should equally support each other to
13:44make this world
13:46better that is so true and over the
13:49years I’ve I’ve seen that where instead
13:53of instead of working out how do we hold
13:55each other up people are too busy trying
13:58to hold each other the down and actually
14:01if we could instead take that step and
14:04go what I always look at every situation
14:07and go how can I best serve you whoever
14:11that is ma man or woman because if I can
14:14leave them feeling a little bit better
14:16um then hopefully I’ve done my bit and
14:20the same will be true that people will
14:22do the same back for you but I think
14:25we’ve we need to build that one Vision
14:29don’t we of supporting each other
14:32equally irrelevant of our age our race
14:34our culture our gender none of that
14:37should should matter it should be we’re
14:40all human beings AR we’re all we’re all
14:43the same underneath um how do we how do
14:46we best support that and grow
14:51together yes so so many you’re working
14:57on but I’m really interested in the work
14:59that you’ve been doing on the women’s
15:01Leadership School so could you tell me a
15:03little bit more about that please yeahWork in Women Leadership
15:05sure um so um my work in uh women’s
15:09leadership so I have been working
15:12on women’s empowerment and gender
15:16equality in Central Asia
15:18for many years now I would say four
15:21years four five years uh recently my
15:25campaign has grown and I have traveled
15:28to Central Asia to give lectures
15:31encouraging women to understand equality
15:35and
15:36Leadership uh I also motivate them to be
15:40strong because of the stress and again
15:44abuse they suffer at the hands of their
15:49husbands um it gives me greatVisits
15:52satisfaction to help women who need uh
15:55my
15:56help uh so during my
15:59visit visits I meet with government
16:03leaders to talk about poverty and
16:07domestic violence usually the leaders
16:10are Keen to exchange ideas with Western
16:13countries on how to improve their
16:16approach to women’s issues and I make it
16:22possible leaders uh like leaders alwaysSocial Media
16:26arrange for me um to meet with with the
16:29local women and I talked to them and
16:33encourage them to be part of a society
16:36where women can help each other so you
16:39see when I on a social media um I mean
16:43on Facebook we say or Instagram I still
16:47you know I motivate women and I
16:49encourage them you know uh to be part of
16:54society and uh I get requests them
16:58themselves you know like Local woman
17:01they say like um can you visit us can
17:03you come this region can you come and
17:06talk can you can we H can we organize
17:09something H can you come and see us
17:12please can you motivate us we want to
17:14see you so I get all sorts of you know
17:16messages from women they want me to go
17:20over there and speak and motivate them
17:24so uh while I’m there I can uh visit
17:28interesting places
17:29and cities such as samakan and bhara we
17:33say still gr and tashk as well while I’m
17:38visiting um these beautiful historical
17:42cities the government usually uh sets up
17:46um conferences for me to
17:48attend and uh I talk about uh
17:51entrepreneurship and philanthropy which
17:55I enjoy talking about because I’m a
17:58myself I’m an entrepreneur and
18:02philanthropist uh I I believe we need to
18:06promote more women’s education in
18:08Central Asia because women
18:12in those regions are still much further
18:17behind than in the
18:19west um women out there need uh our
18:23support and effort to make their
18:27lifestyle better
18:29uh so um I hope to continue my work andFuture Plans
18:34expand it uh
18:36worldwide where inequality is
18:40found uh I would uh encourage all women
18:43to join our online course to get more
18:47support and advice from our eminent
18:49speakers and discover new
18:53future uh I want to work at all levels
18:57from uh government down and promote
19:02women’s education and show that uh half
19:07of the population has a great greater
19:11worth than it is currently given soOnline School
19:16um my plans to make even more lecture
19:20tools to
19:21encourage a more modern way of
19:25thinking um is gathering support at
19:29highest levels and I hope to bring about
19:33a real change in the lives of people
19:37that attend attend the talks so um my
19:43online uh School promotes women’s
19:47leadership education and philanthropy it
19:51includes lectures and training from Top
19:55Professionals in the field worldwideWomen in Central Asia
19:59so I had um if we say over 500 women and
20:0630 men uh have benefited from this
20:11course so including eight women who were
20:16saved from suicide due to their
20:21problems so um I think my work improves
20:26the lives of women in Central Asia I
20:30mean it’s incredible you know I mean May
20:33yes um I see lots of women there trying
20:36to you know uh
20:38suicide uh because
20:41of the situation they’re
20:44facing you know with the husband or
20:47sometimes we can say
20:49mother-in-laws the other one uh causing
20:52a lot issues between husband and wife so
20:55I I saved eight women’s lives five which
20:59e women eight women they were under
21:02stress depressed and there was a
21:06woman uh
21:08she she just she says that I I took my
21:13kids and I went to uh Lakeside to jump
21:19with my kids and I wanted to you know uh
21:23kill myself and including my kids and I
21:26said why it’s because of her husband and
21:30uh yeah we saved her life and then now
21:35right now she’s writing her book and
21:37she’s saying that I’m going to write
21:40about you as well how you Sav my life so
21:43which is uh
21:46incredible I I feel uh you know happy to
21:50see them
21:52happy wow what what a story and what an
21:55impact to be able to save people in such
22:00desperate um situations
22:04to to see that they there is an
22:07alternative and a much more positive
22:10alternative for for them and their
22:12family I can only begin to imagine the
22:16um how that must feel to to know that
22:18your work is having such an impact so
22:22for the people listening how can they
22:24get involved how can they
22:26help so yeah I would would involve I I’mHow can we help
22:29sorry I I would invite um you know um
22:33like like yourself uh invited you to uh
22:38you know come and uh join our course or
22:42if we have like a speaker would like to
22:45help our women um Central Asian women
22:49they’re welcome to speak uh on our
22:51session which will be held held online
22:55via Zoom H so yes they can uh drop us
23:00email uh I have uh if you could uh add
23:04our website as well women’s leadership
23:07uh website and uh we have their you know
23:10contacts they’re welcome to um you know
23:13participate and I’m looking forward to
23:15see you as well there I’m I’m super
23:18grateful for the opportunity and to come
23:20and talk to the group and I sure
23:23obviously in the notes below we will
23:24have all of the ways that people can can
23:27get in touch with it and I would love to
23:30continue to chat and find out just how
23:33much more we can do to make that change
23:36and to have a greater impact it’s been
23:40an absolute Delight to chat to you um
23:43I’m looking forward to continuing the
23:45conversation um is there any last piece
23:48of advice you’d like to share with our
23:50audience before you go well I wanted to
23:54say that you know in the west women have
23:57uh more freedom so I would like men and
24:01women in the west to help women of the
24:06East to get the same uh
24:08freedom I love that I think it’s I think
24:11it’s a great call to action and uh thank
24:14you again for sharing your time and
24:17sharing your inspiring journey to show
24:20us that actually there’s always more
24:22that we can do if we believe in
24:25ourselves and if we support each other
24:27thank you again for joining us thank you
24:33[Music]