4000 miles and beyond
In a landscape of post-Brexit and the era of Trump, we are laying on a thin sheet of glass between those who are politically correct and those who politically-say what the (bleep) they want. With immigrant being a word used to slander and brown-ness claiming a seat at the table, a new generation of British-Asians are claiming their identity with pride.
A look to the past allows us to see the patriarchal positioning of (South) Asian women and how those positions have shifted. Thanks to every woman from the last 100 years, each generation has been part of the domino effect of where we are today. The transformational shift illuminating (South) Asian woman hood, has been illustrated through a new found freedom of ‘tongue and cheek’ Hashtags and IG accounts, such as British Bindi, The Indian Feminist. #unfairandlovely.
The untold stories from ‘traditional’ history lessons in school, brings to why it’s only right we pay homage to the women of our past, present and future. To kick start this journey I wanted to highlight the women in the banner page, why they were chosen, what they stood for, whilst exploring their incredible work that transcended through communities globally. From the Suffragette movement, to domestic abuse rights act, It’s time to put the spotlight on some of the amazing women from the first generation of British Asians and beyond.
SOPHIA DULEEP SINGH - The OG people’s princess
Daughter of the last Maharaja of the Sikh empire and God daughter to Queen Victoria, Sophia Duleep Singh was a revolutionary Princess. You perhaps wouldn’t know this from watching the (Suffragette) film, alongside Emmeline Pankhurst, Sophia was an instrumental figure in the Suffragette movement in fighting for women’s right to vote.
She was a revolutionary fighter and used her wealth and status as a springboard for equality and social justice. Refusing to pay taxes until women had the right to vote, she went as far as throwing herself In front of the then Prime ministers car (Henry Asquith) as a protest. The controversy this would have caused, would be the equivalent of Meghan Markle throwing herself in front of Boris Johnson’s car as a PR stunt… (You get the picture!).
We can only thank Anita Anand for re-writing the forgotten tales of the OG, ‘people’s princess’. Putting aside her wealth and status, Sophia Duleep helped pave the way for the society we live in today. The intersectionality of her identity as an Asian woman is part of the historical chain in completing the stories of the suffragette movement. She was more than a princess but our very own bad girl rebel princess.
Narrated by Anita Anand for the BBC you can find out more about our rebel princess here.
CORNELIA SORABJI – THE REAL ALLY McBEAL
QUIZ TIME! Who know’s who the first woman to study law at Oxford was? And who knew that woman was an Asian woman?
Born in Devlali Nashik (the then British India) Cornelia Sorabji was the first female graduate from Bombay University and the first Indian woman to study law at Sommerville College in Oxford. Graduating in 1892, she became the first woman to read for the Bachelor of Civil Law in Oxford. Practicing in both, India and Britain.
In the early 1800’s way before the suffragette movement could even have a place in ones imagination, women were placed as second class citizens. Meaning, they had no right to keep their own wages, no right to own their own property let alone the privilege of a career or education. So, you must imagine what Cornelia Sorabji achieved as a woman would’ve been mind-blowing at the time.
Sorabji later campaigned for girl’s education, child marriages and protection for widows in India. She also fought for the legal rights for women under the Purdah system, which meant that women under this practice were socially secluded within their homes. She was involved in being an advisory for these women so they could legally claim rights to their property and inheritance.
Around the age of 8, Sorabji witnessed a situation with a woman who desperately needed legal support and turned to her mother, Francina Sorabji. Her mother told her daughter, ‘there are many Indian women in trouble in that way’ and if she wished to be useful in the world, she should study law’.
Sorabji probably couldn’t have imagined at the time but 18 years later she would became the first.
PRAGNA PATEL - SOUTHALL’S ‘SUPER WOMAN’
Pragna Patel wouldn’t have known at the time, that a case in 1989 would re shape the law around domestic violence that bought huge awareness to male oppression in (South) Asian culture. In 1979 South Hall Black Sisters was formed, a charity that started out as an anti-racist defence of Southall, led them to a much-needed form of feminism, supporting black and Asian women through gender-based violence.
Pragna Patel played a huge role in high profiled cases, Including the Kiranjit Ahluwalia case, a woman who accidentally killed her husband as a result of 10 years of physical and mental abuse. The case alone shaped the law around domestic violence and the legal definition of provocation. The way in which abused women were treated in the criminal justice system also highlighted the need for specialist services that were culturally specific.
The charity (still active) provides practical support for women escaping domestic violence, forced marriages and religious fundamentalism. In 2011 Pragna was listed as The Guardian's Top 100 women: activists and campaigners. A real Super Woman in a time where no one else was listening.
amrit wilson - THE ‘SARI’ REVOLUTIONIST
Amrit Wilson is a legendary activist and journalist. Since the 1970’s, at a time when it was most rife, she challenged racism and sexism that Asian women faced in the UK. Her dedication to social change and feminism was penned in Finding A Voice, which won the Martin Luther King award at the time. Finding a voice was pivotal in understanding oppression in (South) Asian women, a collection of one-on-one intimate interviews, allowed the women’s stories to be told beyond their communities.
Celebrating it’s 40th anniversary since it’s release (in 1978), this capsule to the past, navigates the future, voicing what has changed since the first release and where we (Asian women in Britain) are now. In 1984 she set up the first Asian women's refuge in London, the Asha Project and is one of the founding members of the UK’s first feminist Asian women’s collective, Awaz.
It’s hard to imagine a time as to WHY these projects were so important and why they are needed now. With race, gender, class, and caste all entwined, Amrit created these projects to help bring an understanding as to why Asian women needed something ‘separate’ and most importantly safe spaces that formed a sense of familiarity and safe from racism. ‘
The women’s refuge, Asha, is still active today where they continue all the amazing work in helping and supporting Asian women and children who are fleeing violence. You can support/donate directly to the Asha Project here
SHIVVY JERVIS - BOSSIN’ IT! to the future and beyond
Shivvy Jervis is our ultimate Bossin’ it babe of the Future! Known for her work as the producer and host of a video series, Digital Futures. Shivvy Jervis is a multi-award-winning futurist, advisor and presenter for the digital economy. Her commitment to advancing humanity is not only through technology and business but how these breakthroughs can be used in science, psychology and sociology. She frequently chairs high-level debates on gender equality in the tech industry and has been recognised as one of Britain’s top digital influencers and one of Europe’s 30 leading women in STEM.
Shivvy has over 22 awards and accolades under her belt, some of which have gained her to be one of the top 10 Most influential South-Asian women in Britain, she won ‘Woman of the Year’ by public vote and ‘Woman of the Future’ are just to name a few.
For tech heads, you can find out more about our Bossin’ It babe here.
“The future isn’t just technological, it’s actually human” - shivvy jervis
Key talks can be found on Shivvy Jervis’s Youtube channel.
MEERA SYAL - ‘SMITA SMITTEN, SHOWBIZ KITTEN’
Meera Syal, comedian, playwriter, singer and journalist, was part of creating something that firmly put British Asians on the map in a way that was never done before.
The “quick there’s an Indian on TV” shouted across the room was something most (Asians) are familiar with. If there was ever an Indian on a game show or a ten second clip on a soap drama, it would result in the whole family, no matter how able bodied they were, running from every corner of the house, in what seemed a marathon to the TV. Only to miss it by 0.0.1 seconds, leaving you as the only witness protesting; ‘there really was an Indian on TV!’
So when ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ hit our screens in 1998, the anticipation of seeing our culture on prime-time British TV was received with much excitement. It was fresh, new and was presented in a way that turned the Asian stereotype on its head. With a little nervousness, I remember going to school thinking, ‘is everyone going to laugh at us or with us’? You weren’t sure if this would create a missile of ammunition for the infamous ‘P’ word. Much to our relief, when everyone was chanting the lyrics, ‘how big is your dhanda’ and ‘Rasmalaiiiiiii’, we weren’t the butt of the jokes, instead we were making the jokes and the British people LOVED it! The reverse cultures and parodies of British vs British Asians, won them the Best Entertainment award and a BAFTA nomination.
In 2015 The Prince of Wales awarded Meera Syal with a CBE for contributions to the British creative arts.
BBC’S Comedy sketch show - Goodness Gracious Me
M.I.A - middle finger to the world!
Controversy has always surrounded M.I.A from middle finger gate, banned Youtube videos, to her own political advocation for bringing the Sri Lanken civil war to the front media.
M.I.A is more than an artist, she’s someone who I think 100 years ago could’ve been a good match for Sophia Duleep’s past life sister. Known for her politically charged lyrics (although she claims to never intentionally be ‘political’), would non the less call you out for your pc / un-pc bullsh*t. Way back when, in the MySpace days, M.I.A dropped a sound through the air waves of the internet, a sound that most South Asians were perhaps not familiar hearing.
The general ‘all Asians like Rnb / Hip Hop’ stereotype were still getting down to the glossy sounds of Jenny from the block and Ashanti. M.I.A came at us from an unexpected angle, capturing our attention with a juxtaposition mash up of electro, grime, hip hop and sitar strings.
‘When I started off in England, HMV or Tower Records would come to meetings and be, like, 'We just don't know what this genre is.' I don't really fit in between Rihanna and Beyonce’ -M.I.A
Through our own naivety we formed an expectation of what a brown girl should sound like. It wasn’t until M.I.A dropped ‘Paper Planes’ that we understood her art and positionality. Utilising her music as a message to confront media blackout of the Civil war in Sri Lanka, M.I.A.’s shared experience as a refugee and the discrimination she experienced as an immigrant, was now the ‘familiar sound’ we craved the most. We had a brown girl voicing her story via mainstream pop culture, which became more important than the music itself.
In 2019 M.I.A won an MBE for contributions to the arts, welfare organisations and public service.
“I am the bridge between the East and the West. I don't want to abandon one for the other” - M.I.A
Middle finger to the world… Don’t sue me !