Arifa is the chief theatre critic at The Guardian. She is a former contributor to The Observer and previously worked as the arts editor at Tortoise Media. She is also a trustee of the Orwell Foundation, and has been a judge for the UK Theatre Awards and the Women's Prize for Fiction among others. She is also author of ‘Consumed’ about the life and early death of her sister from tuberculosis.

Arifa speaks about why choice and freedom are sacred to her, her spiritual encounters with Islam, the delicacy of telling other people’s stories and the power of the arts.

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