Binish Khatoon (she/her)
University of Manchester
Binish’s is applying the Tree of Life in health research addressing minoritised women’s experiences of breast cancer screening.
Tell us about your research
My research began with a deep concern for the ongoing health inequalities affecting ethnically minoritised women in the UK – especially South Asian and Black women, who continue to present with breast cancer at more advanced stages and report poorer experiences within healthcare. Despite increased breast clinic referrals over the last decade, early symptomatic presentation and screening uptake remain low, and many interventions still adopt a “one-size-fits-all” approach that fails to address the deeper cultural, emotional, and social barriers these women face.
I knew from the start that this project needed to be different. Drawing on my background as a qualitative researcher and my identity as a British Muslim Pakistani woman, I wanted to create research spaces where women felt genuinely seen, heard, and understood, not judged or positioned as “hard to reach.” Working with a diverse multidisciplinary team gave me the freedom to design culturally meaningful data collection tools that centred women’s lived experiences in an authentic way.
This led me to bring together two complementary approaches:
- Tree of Life (TOL) — a narrative therapy method using creative arts and metaphor to build trust, reflect on identity, and invite women to share preferred stories of strength and resilience
- COM-B model — to examine the capabilities, opportunities, and motivations that shaped their breast health behaviours.
Together, these approaches helped surface rich insights about how cultural values, religious beliefs, family roles, social expectations, and past experiences with healthcare shape breast screening behaviours, help-seeking, and self-examination. These findings now inform a community-led engagement strategy co-designed with South Asian women, ensuring any future intervention is not only accessible, but meaningful.
What’s most significant to you about this research?
What matters most to me is that this research gives ethnically minoritised women a space to speak from strength rather than deficit. Too often, research reproduces power imbalances, leaving women feeling judged, misunderstood, or silenced. The Tree of Life approach shifted that dynamic entirely. Women became experts in their own stories, and their knowledge became central to the research, not an afterthought.
Another significant aspect is the intersectional lens. Ethnically minoritised women are often treated as a single homogeneous group, yet their stories, identities, and experiences differ vastly. Recognising these nuances is essential if we are serious about reducing inequalities and honouring the uniqueness within these communities.
This research also feels significant personally. As someone whose own cultural identity sits at the intersection of insider and outsider, I understand the complexities of navigating health, culture, and belonging. To create spaces where women felt safe, validated, and empowered – especially when talking about something as sensitive as breast health – was deeply meaningful.
What drew you to narrative practice in the first place?
Narrative practice drew me in because it centres dignity, meaning, and agency. Traditional qualitative methods in the UK (Eurocentric) often unintentionally reinforce the very power structures they aim to critique. Narrative practice, however, invites people to re-author their stories, speak from strength, and explore their lives through metaphor, memory, and imagination.
I was especially drawn to the Tree of Life approach because it is gentle, culturally adaptable, and grounded in collaboration not extraction. It allows people to express feelings that are difficult to verbalise directly, especially in communities where topics like breast health can carry cultural shame, fear, or stigma. The TOL gave women a way to talk about their lives, their hopes, and their health without feeling judged, embarrassed, or exposed.
Narrative practice allows me to honour people’s wisdom, challenge oppressive structures, and work in ways that feel human, warm, and culturally resonant.
Please share a story of one sparkling moment in your research journey so far
One of the most powerful and sparkling moments in my research journey was seeing how the Tree of Life work, originally created simply as a safe-space methodology using narrative therapy for women to express their stories, grew into something far bigger than I ever expected. What began as quiet conversations in small community rooms became a public digital arts installation showcased in the University of Manchester’s Manchester Museum’s South Asia Gallery, launched to coincide with World Cancer Day 2025.
The installation was co-created with an incredible multidisciplinary team, supported by Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, and brought to life alongside the Fatima Women’s Association. We used the Tree of Life not just as a research method, but as a way for South Asian women to share their roots, journeys, and lived experiences in culturally meaningful ways. Their stories of resilience, hardship, care, and identity became the heart of the installation.
One moment that will stay with me was standing in the gallery during the preview event and watching the women see their stories projected on screen, hearing their own voices, recognising their drawings, and witnessing their journeys honoured in a national institution. These were women who are so often overlooked or stereotyped in research. Yet here they were, centred in a museum, their trees forming a digital forest of courage, wisdom, and connection.
The museum team described the project as “very special,” and the Public Engagement lead emphasised that the safe spaces I helped create were pivotal in enabling the women to speak openly. For me, the most meaningful part was hearing the participants themselves say things like:
“It feels like my life matters.”
“We are finally seen.”
“This is our story, in our words.”
The installation, produced with the creative teams at Eastern Blok and Mister Munro became a celebration of these women’s lives, identities, and hopes for health equity. It also sparked conversations about community, culture, and the barriers South Asian women face in accessing breast cancer screening
Seeing the research transformed into an immersive public experience, opening at the South Asia Gallery with support from Prevent Breast Cancer, Gilead Sciences, and curator Nusrat Ahmed, was a moment of immense pride. It confirmed to me that narrative practice and creative arts are not just methods, they are bridges. They connect people, honour their dignity, and create spaces where their voices can reshape public understanding.
We were also honoured to invite Tree of Life originator Ncazelo Ncube to the museum and spend the day with us discussing the project.
That moment in the gallery, watching a room full of women stand a little taller as their stories lit up the walls, is something I will carry with me always.
Is there a book or article or other publication that has particularly informed or inspired your approach to bringing together narrative practice and research?
The foundation of my approach is strongly influenced by Ncazelo Ncube and David Denborough’s work on the Tree of Life approach, particularly its origins in supporting children affected by HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. The way they wove together narrative therapy, creative arts, and cultural respect resonated deeply with me and became a core inspiration.
Beyond this, narrative therapy literature that highlights power, positionality, and social justice including writings from Dulwich Centre has shaped my thinking. These works remind me that research is never neutral, and that methodologies must honour dignity and resist oppression.
I also draw on intersectionality scholarship, which sits at the heart of my work, especially when navigating cultural, religious, linguistic, and generational differences within South Asian communities. Narrative practice and intersectionality together provided a framework where women’s stories could be honoured in their full complexity.
What are your hopes for your participation in the Narrative Practice Research Network?
My hope is to continue growing as a narrative practitioner and researcher, and to learn from others who are integrating narrative approaches in creative, culturally meaningful ways. I want to contribute to conversations about how narrative practice can be adapted for ethnically diverse communities in the UK, particularly those who have historically been underserved or marginalised in health research.
I also hope to develop collaborations with practitioners who are interested in:
- culturally tailored narrative methods
- safe-space design
- community-led research
- creative arts in health contexts
- intersectional reflexivity
- decolonial approaches to qualitative work.
Most importantly, I hope this network becomes a space where we can support each other to challenge harmful systems, amplify unheard voices, and keep reimagining research as a space rooted in dignity, respect, and possibility.