LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR

Dear Reader,

Living away from the city I first called home gives me a great deal of nostalgia for days past, an acute awareness of how the city changes between visits, and a keen sense of how every other place I visit compares to the city I consider my own.

In this month’s newsletter, we look at the journeys women take from varied lenses - the women they encounter in public spaces; how those of us with mobility challenges navigate such spaces, how the challenges we face spur us in unexpected new directions, and even how some journeys can be forms of escape.

Interestingly, this issue of our newsletter includes both a film and a documentary viewable in entirety online. The documentary, Unlimited Girls, explores the ideas underpinning feminism, online and off: a personal quest for meaning on the part of the filmmaker. The film, Zindagi Tamasha foregrounds the experience of a man whose behavior is seen as having transgressed the norms of his conservative society, costing him his standing in the community and straining the relationship between him and his daughter. Here, too, there is a journey: the protagonist’s deeply personal and often isolating journey to redemption. This isn’t the story about women, but an apt illustration of how patriarchal societies disadvantage even the men they purport to serve.

We hope that in the reading, viewing and listening recommendations this newsletter offers, you see a little bit of your own lived experience, and gain insight into that of others, elsewhere in South Asia and the wider Global South. As always, we are keen to hear your thoughts and feedback - do share them with us at [email protected]!

In solidarity,
Chathuni Uduwela
Guest Editor - 2025 Issue IV

Sister Library

Sister Library, led by Indigenous artist aqui Thami, is a vibrant art initiative that goes beyond the conventional concept of a library. Rooted in the celebration of women, it intertwines literature with community involvement to nurture diverse and inclusive connections. As an evolving and generative artwork, Sister Library is a space dedicated to celebrating female creativity—housing works by women writers, artists, and zine makers. It invites in-depth reflection on the visual and reading cultures of our time, bringing readers together to explore literary contributions, highlight artistic excellence, and foster a deeper appreciation for the accomplishments of women in the creative world.

The project is funded by the Franco-German Cultural Fund. The Fund was set up in 2003 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty of friendship between France and West Germany and it promotes Franco-German cooperation by providing support for cultural and artistic projects.

youthkiawaaz

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 International Day of Action for Women’s Health

We are so proud to share this beautiful collaboration with ARROW, who commissioned Everystory to bring this project to life. Rooted in care, creativity, and our belief that women everywhere deserve the right to safe, accessible abortion, this video reflects the heart of our work—using storytelling as a tool for advocacy, connection, and change. We are deeply grateful for the partnership that made this possible.

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This collaborative effort aligns with the global theme of the 2025 International Day of Action for Women’s Health: “In Solidarity We Resist: Our Fight, Our Right!” The theme underscores the urgency of collective resistance against the rollback of sexual and reproductive health rights worldwide.

For more information on the International Day of Action for Women’s Health and ongoing efforts to advance reproductive rights, visit may28.org

THIS MONTH
WE’RE READING

Enter Ghost by Isabella Hamad

Sonia, an actor, moves from London to Haifa to take a break, but soon finds herself playing Gertrude in a West-Bank production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Making art under occupation is its own form of resistance, and a lot of the novel explores how Sonia makes sense of her identities as a woman, an actor, and a Palestinian; all while bringing Gertrude to life.

The novel journeys through Israeli and Palestinian territories and invites a closer reading of Hamlet from a Palestinian lens. With a text that alternates between narrative and dialogue, Isabella Hammad deftly draws in her readers, demanding that they, too, share in the everyday trials of life under siege.

Enter Ghost was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize in Fiction in 2024.

THIS MONTH
WE’RE WATCHING

Unlimited Girls

Unlimited Girls is an Indian documentary exploring what feminism means and looks like, examined from several lenses, online and off. The film, mixing genres and defying categorization, begins in an online chat room and takes place mostly as part of the narrator’s search for answers in the rapidly changing urban environment she lives in.

The result of her search is quirky, unconventional, and (having been made in 2002) strangely prescient… and unusually, available in its entirety on YouTube!

What does independence and empowerment look like for women in rural India? This 2025 film on the People’s Archive of Rural India YouTube channel tells the story of how women farmers in rural Maharashtra overcome persistent agricultural distress, One Seed at a Time.

Also available to watch in full online is the 2020 Pakistani film, Zindagi Tamasha.

In centering a devout, heterosexual Muslim man shunned by his community for a perceived transgression, this film departs from our usual offering of women-centric films or those made by women. What makes it feminist, though, is its compelling illustration of how patriarchy makes victims even of the men it purports to empower.

Rahat Khwaja is a devout follower of Islam, a dedicated caregiver to his ailing wife, and an otherwise model citizen in his hometown of Lahore, until a video surfaces of him dancing at a celebration. This is seen as unbecoming for a man of his stature, and so begins a string of events that see him estranged from his community and even his adult daughters. As he grapples with the unwanted attention and the baseless assumptions as to his identity and preferences, Rahat begins to experience and see his world anew.

Controversial in Pakistan, Zindagi Tamasha nevertheless secured the distinction of being the country’s official submission to the 93rd Academy Awards, and is now available to view on YouTube.

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