This October, brilliant minds will come together to discuss solutions for peace, gender equality, social justice, and a unified South Asia.
eShe magazine’s South Asia Union Summit Led by Women is designed to promote women’s leadership and create a space for cross-border dialogue while harnessing feminine intelligence for a collaborative future. The event is supported by WISCOMP – Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace, an initiative of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility.
Timed this time to coincide with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the UN’s International Day of Non-Violence, the virtual Summit includes talks, interviews, workshops and panel discussions by women of purpose from around South Asia and the world. Speakers include academics, writers, activists, educationists, artists, influencers, thought leaders, historians, authors, and more.
This Summit could not have happened without the guidance and blessings of:
- Dr Scilla Elworthy, founder of Business Plan for Peace and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Oxford, UK
- Dr Meenakshi Gopinath, director of WISCOMP and Padma Shri awardee, New Delhi, India
- Beena Sarwar, peacebuilder, editor of Aman ki Asha and founder-curator of South Asia Peace Action Network, Boston, US
The Summit takes forward from eShe’s Indo-Pak Peace Summit Led by Women in January 2021. It was initially planned for May 2021 but had to be rescheduled due to the second Covid wave in India.
Aekta Kapoor, founder and editor of eShe, says, “Conflict, war and militarization come at an unimaginable cost – to life, resources, freedom, social justice and the basic principles of humanity. It is women who suffer the consequences of war, violence and extremism the most, and it is time women stepped up to build peace in South Asia using the power of feminine wisdom, the spirit of solidarity, and a vision tinted with empathy.”
Dates: 2nd and 3rd October, 2021
Time: 3 to 9 pm India | 9.30 am to 3.30 pm GMT – both days
Platform: Livestream on eShe’s Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter – comments and participation welcome.
Follow @esheworld on the social-media platform of your choice and do turn on notifications so that you don’t miss any session.
Speakers
In alphabetical order:
- Aekta Kapoor, founder of eShe and South Asia Union
- Ambika Satkunanathan, lawyer and former commissioner of Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission (Sri Lanka)
- Archana Chaudhary, journalist, Bloomberg (India)
- Beena Sarwar, journalist-filmmaker, peacebuilder, founder-curator of South Asia Peace Action Network (US)
- Darshita Gillies, impact investor, philanthropist and tech entrepreneur (UK)
- Deepti Chawla, producer-director, head of distribution, syndication and marketing, National Film Development Corporation (India)
- Diep Saeeda, peace activist and anti-nuclear campaigner, founding director of the Institute for Peace and Secular Studies (Pakistan)
- Dolly Thakore, award-winning Indian theatre actress and casting director (India)
- Faiza Yousuf, technologist and founder of WomeninTechPK and CodeGirls (Pakistan)
- Fawzia Naqvi, economic policy advisor, former vice president, Soros Economic Development Fund (US)
- Hina Jilani, pioneering lawyer and pro-democracy advocate (Pakistan)
- Juhi Javed Husain, civil servant, lawyer and senior policy advisor specialising in digital privacy (UK)
- Karen Downes, cofounder, FemmeQ and changemaker (Costa Rica)
- Khushi Kabir, social activist, artist and environmentalist (Bangladesh)
- Leslee Udwin, award-winning filmmaker, educationist and founder of Think Equal (UK)
- Mallika Joseph, scholar of security sector reform, senior fellow at WISCOMP, and visiting fellow at CPR (India)
- Mandy Sanghera, award-winning philanthropist and human-rights activist (UK)
- Manjula Pradeep, director, Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network, and national convener of National Council of Women Leaders (India)
- Mariam Safi, founding executive director of Organization for Policy Research & Development Studies (Afghanistan-Canada)
- Meenakshi Gopinath, educationist, peacebuilder, Padma Shri awardee and director of WISCOMP (India)
- Mehr Tarar, columnist, writer and TV show host (Pakistan)
- Monica Malhotra Kandhari, managing director, MBD Group (India)
- Najiba Laima Kasraee, journalist, broadcaster, writer, associate standard editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Afghanistan-UK)
- Nandita Das, award-winning actor, director, author and human-rights advocate (India)
- Natasha Badhwar, filmmaker, columnist, author, media team lead at Karwan e Mohabbat (India)
- Paba Deshapriya, advocate for equal opportunity and director of The Grassrooted Trust (Sri Lanka)
- Peggy Mohan, linguistic expert, author and educator (India-US)
- Pinky Pradhan, director, communications and strategic partnerships, Plan India (India)
- Priyanka Singh, researcher and founding member of South Asia Peace Action Network (India)
- Dr Radha Kumar, academic, author and Chair of United Nations University Council (India)
- Ravinder Kaur, scholar of South Asian history, associate professor at University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
- Rita Manchanda, scholar, author and peacebuilder (India)
- Riya Singh, co-founder, Dalit Women Fight, ICSSR doctoral fellow (India)
- Saba Gul, technology entrepreneur and changemaker (Pakistan)
- Sabin Muzaffar, feminist publisher and editor of Ananke magazine (UAE)
- Sadaffe Abid, advocate for women’s advancement, tech and financial inclusion; founder of CIRCLE (Pakistan)
- Salima Hashmi, award-winning artist, author and peace activist (Pakistan)
- Saloni Chopra, actor, entrepreneur, author of ‘Rescued by a Feminist‘ (India-Australia)
- Samra Zafar, human-rights advocate, speaker and writer (Pakistan-Canada)
- Sarita Bartaula, researcher and founding member of South Asia Peace Action Network (US)
- Sarita Kumari Sodha, philanthropist, environmental evangelist, peace activist, director of Ghenarao Hotels (India)
- Shahneila Saeed, director, Digital Schoolhouse, Head of Education, Ukie (UK)
- Sonora Jha, journalism professor and author of How to Raise a Feminist Son (US)
- Suparnaa Chadda, founder, SABERA Awards (India)
- Tara Krishnaswamy, software director, activist, author and co-founder of Political Shakti women’s collective and Citizens for Bengaluru (India)
- Vani Tripathi Tikoo, actor, producer, columnist and socio-political activist (India)
- Veena Sikri, former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, author and academic, convener of the South Asia Women Network (India)
Emcees: Lina Shabeeb and Pragya Narang
Tech support: Manasvi Jerath
For the full agenda and schedule, please visit the event page on eShe.
Follow us on @esheworld to watch the sessions live and participate.
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