Her Kajal Won't Smudge Maed in India
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- Society & Culture
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In desi society, there are so many unwritten rules that define women’s behaviour. These “rules” are reinforced by the threat of reprisals and creating a system of policing a woman’s life choices, no matter where she lives. But things are changing. Online and offline, women (and men) are calling out all kinds of norms, like toxic rishta culture and beauty ideals.
HKWS brings together and amplifies their voices. Join Shana as she talks to influencers, street protestors, artists, filmmakers and more about the many creative, vibrant, revolutionary ways in which they are imagining a better, fairer, world.
With millions of followers, supporters and audiences that are growing in number, are we witnessing a desi women’s liberation movement? Has its time finally come?
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Sarmad Khoosat - “The ideas of misogyny and patriarchy are a mindset, as opposed to a construct restricted to a gender”
In this episode, Shana speaks with award-winning actor, director and producer, Sarmad Khoosat, the first male guest on Her Kajal Won’t Smudge.
In this conversation, Shana and Sarmad talk about Zindagi Tamasha (“Circus of Life”), a movie directed and produced by Sarmad. It was Pakistan’s submission for the 93rd Oscars but it has never had a theatrical release in Pakistan.
Sarmad shares his thoughts on the controversy around Zindagi Tamasha, how men and women are both limited by social norms and the public’s heartfelt response to the intolerance Zindagi Tamasha has faced.
Plus they discuss the influence Saadat Hasan Manto, the writer, has had on Sarmad’s life.
Follow Sarmad on Instagram @sarmadkhoosat.
CREDITS:
Host and Creative Director: Shana
This is a Maed in India production
Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas
Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome
Producer: Ruchi Sawardekar
Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni, Lakshman Parsuram
Visual Design & Social Media: Minal Jadeja, Akshat Agarwal, Shaumik Kanvinde -
Kate Manne and Urna Chakrabarty - “Misogyny is the metaphorical police force of patriarchy”
In this episode, Shana is in conversation with Kate Manne (philosopher, associate professor at Cornell University and author of Down Girl and Entitled) and Urna Chakrabarty (graduate student at Cornell University) to ask: why is there so much violence against women in South Asia? This is a question discussed by many academics and multilateral agencies and it is a source of daily concern for desi women who navigate everyday life under threat of violence. Contrary to our preconceived notion that crimes against women are random, Kate and Urna provide a very different perspective. They decode the systemic nature of violence against women and draw out the ‘logic of misogyny’ which perpetuates sexist, gendered roles through the threat of violence and victim-shaming.
Follow Kate on X @kate_manne.
CREDITS:
Host and Creative Director: Shana
This is a Maed in India production
Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas
Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome
Producer: Ruchi Sawardekar, Nikkethana Kamal
Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni, Lakshman Parsuram
Visual Design & Social Media: Minal Jadeja, Akshat Agarwal, Shaumik Kanvinde -
Surabhi Yadav - “Women At Leisure is a way to keep my mother’s memory alive”
In this episode, Shana talks to Surabhi Yadav, the creator of Women At Leisure, an Instagram account filled with 7 years of pictures and videos of women simply at leisure - having a cup of chai, climbing a tree, playing football. For Surabhi, time is a feminist issue, which lays bare the many oppressions of caste, class and the invisibility of women’s work.
They also discuss the backstory about how Women at Leisure came to be. After Surabhi’s mother, Basanti, passed away, Surabhi set out to keep her memory alive by asking aunts and her mother’s friends to share her stories. The person they described in story after story was a funny prankster, adjectives that did not come to mind when Surabhi thought of her mother. Who was her mother, when she was not busy managing a large family? This inspired Surabhi to create Women at Leisure as a kind of ongoing conversation with her mother. This conversation led Shana to also share why she created Her Kajal Won’t Smudge. The similarities in Surabhi and Shana’s journeys are a reflection of just how life brings two people together in ways that can be so unexpected and yet so in harmony.
Follow Women At Leisure @women_at_leisure on Instagram.
CREDITS:
Host and Creative Director: Shana
This is a Maed in India production
Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas
Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome
Producer: Ruchi Sawardekar
Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni, Lakshman Parsuram
Visual Design & Social Media: Minal Jadeja, Akshat Agarwal, Shaumik Kanvinde -
Mira Malhotra - “If ads can sell you stuff by being witty and engaging, I can do the same with graphic design and feminist ideas”
In this episode, Shana is in conversation with visual artist, illustrator and graphic designer, Mira Malhotra. Mira runs Studio Kohl, a design studio with a very recognisable visual style and a roster of clients that are big name brands, corporations and charities. What makes Mira such a compelling and unique designer is that her feminism is ever present in all she does. Shana asks Mira about the origins of her feminism and how it came to be such a natural extension of her life and work, personal and professional.
Follow Mira @kokumkohla and Studio Kohl @studiokohlindia on Instagram.
CREDITS:
Host and Creative Director: Shana
This is a Maed in India production
Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas
Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome
Producer: Ruchi Sawardekar
Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni, Lakshman Parsuram
Visual Design & Social Media: Minal Jadeja, Akshat Agarwal, Shaumik Kanvinde -
Amber Arifeen - “As an artist, I have the capacity to express things that most women can’t, issues that resonate with most desi women”
In this episode, Shana is in conversation with visual and performance artist, Amber Arifeen. Amber’s art looks at life through women’s eyes, giving insight into how women navigate the world. Take, for example, women and physical safety. Even if it might differ in degree depending on where women live, all women, around the world, can relate to this concept. Amber’s art shows just how this fear of violence against women restricts our freedom and full enjoyment of public spaces, including nature. The wonder of Amber’s art is that by making visible women’s invisible life experiences, Amber creates space for dialogue with society at large.
Follow Amber on Instagram @amber_arifeen
CREDITS:
Host and Creative Director: Shana
This is a Maed in India production
Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas
Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome
Producer: Ruchi Sawardekar, Nikkethana Kamal
Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni, Lakshman Parsuram
Visual Design & Social Media: Minal Jadeja, Akshat Agarwal, Shaumik Kanvinde -
Krantinaari of Wild Wild Women - “We don’t connect to the hip-hop that men create, so we make our own”
In this episode, Shana talks to Krantinaari, a hip-hop artist, activist and a founding member of India’s first female hip-hop collective, Wild Wild Women. She talks about finding her own language of feminism, being a female rapper in an industry dominated by men and how Wild Wild Women came together to create music that they and other women can relate to.
Follow @krantinaari and @wildwildwomen on Instagram
Krantinaari raps acapella from her self-titled single ‘Krantinaari’ in this episode.
Here is a translation of the lyrics:
In the traditional rule of the father and son
The woman is hiding her pain, she’s suppressed her scream
The thorns on the way that pricked her
Those became the sign of progress when she got educated
But now that we see she’s not even safe in the house of the rich
In such situations she’s holding on strong
Even when their mindset is old, rusty and useless
Come on, broaden your mind and evolve
Dangerous situations occur with 3 out of 5, by their own relatives
Stuck within four walls, she sacrifices her happiness
She is courageous and not your slave
She will smile forgetting all her pain
How long will you search for God with your eyes closed
If you’ve forgotten your morals, you’re going to be punished
She won’t just work hard from 9 to 5, day and night
With her heart and calm mind
The revolutionary woman is here to bring justice
The revolutionary woman is nature’s blessing
Revolutionary Woman!
CREDITS:
Host and Creative Director: Shana
This is a Maed in India production
Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas
Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome
Producer: Ruchi Sawardekar
Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni, Lakshman Parsuram
Visual Design & Social Media: Minal Jadeja, Akshat Agarwal, Shaumik Kanvinde