Elif Shafak: writing through the eyes of women

The writer of 17 books in 50 languages, the British-Turkish writer and activist Elif Shafak was put on trial for her work in Turkey and accused of being a "pawn for western powers". Speaking to journalist and broadcaster Razia Iqbal in this podcast from the 2019 Festival of Ideas, Shafak talks about the feeling of being an outsider in your motherland, the urgent need for reform in the Turkish political landscape, and the role of novels in a country without free speech. Elif Shafak is the author of novels including The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, and Three Daughters of Eve.

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