Interview with Sitara Khan
By GARTH FRANKLAND SITARA is a Labour Party member, sup- porter of West Forkshire Brieting, and on the eeds District Labour Party Panel for the Council. She is above all known for her campaign- ing against racism and deprivation in education. Sitara helped organise two large demonstrations outside Leeds Education Committee over the failure to make extra provision to overcome the deprivation suf- fered by blacks in the education area. SV: What do you think of the position of Asian women inside the Labour Party? SK: Basically Asian women are non-existent inside the Labour part and be able to develop themselves. coming Black disadvantage? their own staff. possible. SV: What about the situation in Leeds? fundamental problems have not changed. The way the Council has dealt with the education racist nature of British society. Despite the employment of dozens of new teachers, only a handful of them were black. The Authority said there were not enough blacks with teaching qualifica- tions: however a number of examples have come forward of qualified black teachers being rejected. One black woman had 15 years teaching experience and two M.A.s. There is a continuing failure to qualifications recognise overseas (especially as the qualifications in the Commonwealth are modelled on those in Britain). [Sitara helped organise the two large demonstrations at Leeds Education Committee fighting for changes in the recruitment policies.| The Committees of the Council should co-opt black members as long as they are not represented on Council. The I.L.E.A has shown the way in electing a co-opted black to chair the important woman Schools Committee. This makes an enor- mous difterence. The D.E.S. since the Swann Report has begun to relax its positions on overseas Leeds Council should qualifications.
recruit black teachers with overseas qualifications, and then fight to get the qualification recognised. Of course there would have to be some in-house training. SV: What do you think of the Honeyford affair in Bradford? (The fight by Asian parents to force the dismissal of a head teacher who has written racist articles]. SK: Deplorable. No, that's not strong enough. Honeyford's position is that white children suffer educationally from being In schools with large numbers of black pupils. However research shows that white children do beller under such conditions than in all white schools! This seems to be because having to learn in classrooms with a second language gives them a better grasp of their own language!
On paper, Bradford Council had one of the best race policies in Britain. Nearly one third of the population of Bradford is black. The Bradford Council's inquiry not Socialist Viewpoint, No 8, November 1986. Page 18
only found Honeyford guilty over his article in the Salisbury Review, but also over his actual practice inside the school.
Thatcher's Invitation to Honeyford to come to Downing Street is a provocation to all Black people in Britain. In Bradford the local Labour Party has been very supportive - but Kinnock and Hattersley have failed to call for the removal of Honeyford. SV: What of the future? SK: The future cannot be separated from the fight in the present. The Labour Party has a moral duty to support the black communities. The blacks have voted Labour for the last 30 years. Space must be created for blacks in the Party.
Kinnock and Hattersley have failed to face up to the Issue of black oppression. Black people have their specitie needs: and Black Sections are one way of beginning to meet those needs.
Japan: how Nakasone follows Thatcher
By ALAN THORNETT THE renowned "Japanese economic miracle" which had reg living sanded do bully is. ing living standards but for life" for