Think Feminist CREA

In the final episode of season 1 of 'Think Feminist', host Srilatha Batliwala, along with guests Ramyata Limbu and Arundhati Sridhar, explores what it means to think about leadership from a feminist perspective. Tune in as they look at examples of successfully-led feminist movements, and break down the strategies of practicing feminist leadership.

Arundhati Sridhar is a feminist development practitioner, researcher and podcaster. She currently works as Program Manager at Gender at Work India, and has extensive experience in feminist organizing, leadership building and documentation. 

Ramyata Limbu is a veteran Nepali journalist, and has worked as a correspondent for various national and international publications. She is also an award-winning and critically acclaimed filmmaker, known for producing the documentaries, 'Daughters of Everest', 'The Sari Soldiers' and 'Drawing the Tiger'.  

Podcast Production: CREA and Sonologue
Music: Icelandic Arpeggios by DivKid

Read the full episode transcript here!

Think Feminist’s fifth episode takes a deep dive into organizations. Why do organizations matter? And what do they have to do with feminist action? Host Srilatha Batliwala breaks down the power dynamics and hierarchies at work even in feminist organizations, along with guests Joanne Sandler and Tejinder Singh Bhogal. Tune in as they discuss how organizations can change their internal cultures to create more healthy and enabling environments. 

Joanne Sandler is a feminist activist and advocate from the United States. She is the co-author of the book 'Gender at Work' that analyzes power dynamics in organizations. Joanne has been working to strengthen women’s rights, gender justice and organizational change strategies in the US and transnationally for nearly 40 years. 

Tejinder Singh Bhogal is a rural development consultant who has spent many years helping organizations change their internal cultures to create more healthy and enabling environments for their teams. Tejinder is also the co-author of CREA's 'Feminist Mentoring for Feminist Futures' guides. 

Podcast Production: CREA and Sonologue
Music: Icelandic Arpeggios by DivKid

Read the full episode transcript here!

The fourth episode of Think Feminist looks at movements and the important role they play in feminist activism. Author of 'All About Movements' and your host Srilatha Batliwala explains what movements are, how they are built, how they work, and how they create change. Joining her are gender equality practitioner Vandana Mahajan, and Blank Noise founder Jasmeen Patheja, who share stories of Indian feminist movements from 'Meet to Sleep' to the Dalit women led newspaper 'Khabhar Lahariya'.

Vandana Mahajan is an independent gender equality practitioner based in Delhi, India. She has been a part of the Indian Women's movement over a period of 25-30 years.

Jasmeen Patheja is an artist in public service. Jasmeen builds ideas for public and collective action. She designs and facilitates methodologies committed to ending violence against women, girls and all persons. She is the founder and facilitator of Blank Noise, a growing community of Action Sheroes, Heroes, Theyroes; citizens and persons, taking agency to end sexual and gender based violence.

Podcast Production: CREA and Sonologue
Music: Icelandic Arpeggios by DivKid

Read the full episode transcript here!

On the third episode of 'Think Feminist', host Srilatha Batliwala talks to guests Farah Ghuznavi and Subha Wijesiriwardena about 'Feminism'. Analyzing feminism as an ideology, as an analytical framework, and as a social change strategy - Srilatha, Subha and Farah talk about how feminism differs from other ideologies, what intersectional feminism looks like, and some of the myths around who a feminist is and isn’t.

Farah Ghuznavi is a Bangladeshi writer, development worker, journalist and translator. Over the years, Ghuznavi has worked for the Grameen Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, Christian Aid UK and other non-governmental organizations. She is also a regular contributor to The Star weekend magazine.

Subha Wijesiriwardena is Manager, Programs and Innovations at CREA works on strengthening the resilience of feminist movements against anti-gender, anti-democracy forces, and defending civic space. This includes working on a global, cross-movement “challenging criminalization” strategy. She also works on CREA’s global institutes, and supports global-level advocacy. She is the co-founder of ‘A Collective for Feminist Conversations’, based out of Colombo; a borderless online/on-ground platform for intergenerational and intersectional feminist conversations.

Podcast Production: CREA and Sonologue
Music: Icelandic Arpeggios by DivKid

Read the full episode transcript here!

Have humans always been patriarchal as a species? What were the cultural conditions that prompted the rise of patriarchy? How do you start talking to men about it? Listen to the full episode to find the answers to these questions! Catch your host Srilatha Batliwala in conversation with guests Lavanya Mehra and Tasaffy Hossain, as they uncover the origins of patriarchy and what it means to live in a patriarchal world. 

Tasaffy Hossain is a freelance development professional and an advocate for human and gender rights. She is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh and has been working in private sector development for over 10 years. She is the founder of Bonhishikha - unlearn gender, which works towards a society where everyone is accepted irrespective of their gender: where they are given equal choice and right to opportunities.

Lavanya Mehra is Manager, Programs and Innovation at CREA. Lavanya is involved in the South Asia Young Women’s Leadership and Mentorship (SAYWLM) program at CREA, an initiative working with 30 partner organizations in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. She has over 15 years of work experience in areas of organizational development, understanding organizational systems and structures and is deeply interested in issues of gender equality, masculinities, feminist leadership and feminist mentorship.

Podcast Production: CREA and Sonologue
Music: Icelandic Arpeggios by DivKid

Read the full episode transcript here!

Host Srilatha Batliwala, Senior Advisor at CREA and author of All About Power, kicks off Episode 01 of 'Think Feminist' with a deep dive into the concept of Power. How do you analyze power structures, and the different kinds of power we have access to as individuals and societies?

Together with Lisa VeneKlasen from Just Associates (JASS) and Aruna Rao from Gender at Work, Srilatha explains how understanding power is the start of a feminist perspective of the world.

Lisa VeneKlasen is an American activist, educator, strategist and organization-builder. Lisa is also the Founding Executive Director of JASS (Just Associates). Lisa has over 30 years of experience in social justice and women's rights organizations and in movement building. Her work talks about how power operates in different forms.

Aruna Rao is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Gender at Work, an international feminist knowledge network that works to end discrimination against women and build cultures of inclusion. Aruna is an expert in the field of gender and development with over 30 years of experience in pioneering new approaches to gender and institutional change. Her work focuses on analyzing how intangible power structures operate in organizations.

Podcast Production: CREA and Sonologue
Music: Icelandic Arpeggios by DivKid

Read the full episode transcript here!