What does the future of South Asia look like, and who gets to shape it?
Over three days this November, eShe brings together leaders, academics, activists and young changemakers from around the world for vibrant conversations on democracy, gender, identity, climate, culture, technology and the issues shaping our collective future.
Theme: Gender, Power, Resistance
Dates: 13 – 15 November 2026
Format: Virtual (Zoom live)
The Summit comes at a time when global peace, women’s safety, climate justice and democratic freedoms are increasingly under threat regionally and globally. We invite global thinkers, grassroots changemakers and women leaders from across South Asia and the diaspora to gather, find common ground across borders, and help chart a roadmap forward toward a just, inclusive and more compassionate world.
From the future of democracy to women’s political activism and the changing meaning of borders and belonging, South Asia Union Summit 2026 creates space for perspectives, questions and conversations that cross national boundaries.
Notable speakers at past Summits have included a diverse array of voices, including peacebuilders Dr Scilla Elworthy and Dr Meenakshi Gopinath; actor and activist Nandita Das; award-winning filmmakers such as Leslie Udwin, Sabiha Sumar, Alankrita Srivastava and Mehreen Jabbar; thought leaders Dr Radha Kumar and Karen Downes; activists Hina Jilani, Ambika Satkunanathan and Manjula Pradeep, besides many more.
Further programming information will be updated on this page. Register for free.
HOW TO JOIN
All sessions are live on Zoom, in the evening in South Asia and the morning in North America.
Step 1: Register free. One registration covers all three days.
Step 2: Get your Zoom link. It arrives by email right away, with a reminder before each session. Add to calendar.
Step 3: Join live, 13-15 November. See the program. Speakers will be announced soon; registered participants hear first.
PROGRAM
Times are shown in US Eastern (EST) and India (IST). Speakers will be announced soon.
(Click here to add the schedule to your Google calendar)
Friday, 13 November 2026
| Keynote Session 8 am EST 6.30 pm IST | To be broadcast on Facebook. |
| Panel 1 9 am EST 7.30 pm IST | Who Counts as ‘Us’? Nationalism, Migration and the Minority Question To examine how majoritarianism, under the banner of nationalism, is reshaping who counts as “us” in South Asia and North America. The session will explore how divisive rhetoric, state power, law and digital technologies are used to marginalize minorities and dissent, and what it would take to defend pluralism and inclusion in democracies under strain. |
| Panel 2 11 am EST 9.30 pm IST | Who Owns the Intelligence: AI, Technology and Systemic Bias To examine how AI and digital technologies can reproduce gender, caste, class and racial inequalities, and who builds, benefits from and bears the costs of these systems. The session will explore algorithmic bias, access to tech ecosystems and resources, and consider what a feminist, equitable and socially just technological future would require. |
Saturday, 14 November 2026
| Panel 3 7 am EST 5.30 pm IST | From Object to Author: When Women Control the Frame in Cinema To examine how South Asian cinema has framed women as objects of desire, sacrifice and violence, and what changes when women take up the camera. The session will explore how women filmmakers challenge misogyny and stereotypes, portray gender-diverse communities and lived experience with greater complexity, and disrupt the patriarchal hierarchies of the industry, with a focus on authorship, representation and narrative power. |
| Panel 4 8.30 am EST 7 pm IST | Truth Under Fire: Media Censorship and Propaganda Press To examine how censorship, state pressure and propaganda are shaping what people can read, watch and say, and who pays the price when journalism is silenced. The session will explore how internet shutdowns, legal harassment and the capture of mainstream media narrow public debate. It will also consider what independent reporting, alternative platforms and cross-border solidarity can do to keep the truth in circulation. |
| Panel 5 10 am EST 8.30 pm IST | Body as Battleground: Gender, Sexuality, Culture and Resistance To examine how bodies, sexuality and gender norms become sites of control and of resistance, and how culture, religion, and the state shape women’s and queer people’s bodily expression and wellbeing. The session will explore bodily autonomy and access to resources, the policing of dress, intimacy and identity, and its implications for social justice and fundamental rights in South Asian and Western societies. |
Sunday, 15 November 2026
| Panel 6 6.30 am EST 5 pm IST | The Future of Democracy: Gen Z, Women and Political Activism To examine how women political activists, and especially younger women, are leading from the front when it comes to challenging increasingly authoritarian leadership, divisive rhetoric and political violence in South Asian and Western democracies. The session will explore recent Gen Z movements that have ignited political transformation in South Asian countries, and are continuing to do so. |
| Panel 7 8 am EST 6.30 pm IST | Who Pays for Progress? Climate Change, Gender and Neocolonialism To examine who bears the costs and who holds the power in the global climate transition, particularly for women and communities across South Asia. The session will explore climate finance, resource extraction, adaptation and development through a gender and neocolonial lens, while considering what a more locally led and equitable model of climate action could look like. |
| Panel 8 9.30 am EST 8 pm IST | Gender Activism 4.0: Influencers, Cyberfeminism and Digital Cultures To examine how digital platforms are changing feminist activism, from influencers and online campaigns to cyberfeminist movements and the digital cultures they create. The session will explore who gets heard online and who is silenced, how algorithms and monetization shape feminist messaging, and the risks of harassment, surveillance and backlash that activists face, including in South Asia and across the wider world. |
| Panel 9 11 am EST 9.30 pm IST | Patriarchy, ‘Purity’ and Power: Breaking the Chains of Caste and Gender To expose how caste and patriarchy combine to turn women into guardians of “purity”, how Dalit and other marginalized women are hit hardest, and how families, religious institutions and the state keep these hierarchies in place. It will focus on what actually breaks them: organized resistance, legal reform that is enforced, and the everyday choices that refuse caste and gender as destiny, across South Asia and beyond. |
Free to attend.
Made possible by you.
We keep the Summit free so that anyone, anywhere, can join the conversation. Your gift supports independent, women-led journalism and keeps platforms like this open to everyone.
Have questions, or want to volunteer or partner with us? Please write to mail@eshe.in with your profile or proposal.
Join our WhatsApp community and share your thoughts! All sessions will be broadcast live on Facebook.
eShe is an independent, women-led newsroom based in Seattle and DC that produces public-interest journalism focused on women, South Asian diaspora, and gender-diverse communities.
South Asia Union is an initiative by eShe to promote women’s leadership and create a space for cross-border dialogues on gender equity, human rights, democratic freedoms, climate justice, and a unified South Asia.
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