How the friendship of two cross-border feminist poets symbolises our work; upcoming events, and more
Radical love, epitomised by the poets Amrita Pritam and Fahmida Riaz is one of the seeds of the revolutionary thought process. More on this at today's hybrid event in Delhi. Plus a view from Kathmandu
Hello friends:
The radical feminist poets Amrita Pritam of India and Fahmida Riaz of Pakistan rose above all kinds of borders and boundaries, standing in solidarity with each other despite their hostile governments. Speakers from both countries will pay tribute today to their ‘strong voices of love, desire and resilience’ at the Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi and online.
The hybrid event, titled 'Ishq, Siyasat aur Awam' (Love, politics and the people), features dialogue, poetry and music through the prism of these literary stalwarts. Organised by Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), Southasia Peace Action Network founding members, and others. Details here.
Online
Thursday, 1 February: Sapan Working Group review and planning meeting, open to supporters who’d like to join, connect, volunteer etc.
Time: 10 am ET/ 8 pm Pakistan/ 9 pm Bangladesh. Agenda: Introductions, updates, and any other matter.
For the joining link, please email southasiapeaceactionnetwork@gmail.com.
Sunday, 18 February: February is “the month of love” and there are elections in several Southasian countries this year. We’re planning a webinar on Southasians’ romance with democracy. Thoughts welcome (same email as above). Morning ET, evening Southasia. Subscribe to southasiapeace.com to get updates as they are posted rather than waiting for this newsletter.
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Solidarity
beena sarwar
*Note on Southasia as one word: Following the lead of Himal Southasian, we at Sapan use ‘Southasia’ as one word, “seeking to restore some of the historical unity of our common living space, without wishing any violence on the existing nation states”. Writing Sapan like this rather than all caps makes it a word that means ‘dream’.
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