From Exclusion to Belonging — A Conversation With Shamime Jan

🎙From Exclusion to Belonging — A Conversation With Shamime Jan Shamime Jan From Exclusion to Belonging: The Story Behind Shamime Jan In her Legacy Bench conversation, Shamime Jan shares a story shaped by community, cultural understanding, and a long-standing commitment to rethinking how women’s health is supported in underserved communities. As the Founder and Director of Bollyfit Active CIC, Shamime has spent over a decade building a culturally responsive model of health and wellbeing that reaches women who are often left behind by traditional systems. Her work is grounded in a simple but powerful belief: before behaviour change comes belonging. Shamime developed The BELONG Method™ through years of lived experience working closely with women who were not engaging with mainstream health programmes. She discovered that the barrier was rarely a lack of information. Instead, it was a lack of trust, connection, and culturally safe spaces where women felt seen and understood. That insight became the foundation of her mission. At the centre of her work is a clear question: What if the missing link in public health isn’t more services, but a different starting point built on belonging?