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Education can be a turning point or a locked door, and too often we design universities to keep the “wrong” people out. We sit down with Anne-Marie Day and Rachel from Manchester Met to ask what higher education should do for people with lived experience of the justice system, and why scholarships are not a nice extra but a concrete part of decarceration, prevention, and reducing reoffending.

We get specific about the obstacles justice-involved students face: disrupted schooling, missing qualifications, housing pressure, lack of ID, and the simple exhaustion of trying to rebuild a life. We also talk about what works when universities take a holistic view, from mentoring and pastoral support to smarter timetabling that reflects real lives. For women in particular, childcare and caring responsibilities can decide whether study is possible, so targeted support has to be practical, respectful, and led by choice.

Then the conversation shifts across borders. Parasto Hakim shares how she helped build a community-led network of secret schools in Afghanistan after the Taliban ban on girls’ education, expanding from one home classroom to dozens of safe learning spaces. She explains how WhatsApp coordination, Teams classes, skills training, and trauma support help girls and women protect hope, build livelihoods, and refuse the label of “victim”.

If this moved you, subscribe, share the episode with someone who cares about justice and education, and leave us a review with the one idea you want universities and policymakers to act on next.

Audio edited by Jamie Warren-Green at Umbrella Audio

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