Asian Woman Festival returns as online event

A popular festival celebrating the lives of South Asian women will return this year, billed now as an online event.

The Asian Woman Festival (AWF) which also celebrates underrepresented genders in the diaspora is focusing on the importance of self-care and the power of putting yourself first.

For South Asian women and underrepresented genders, this can be more difficult to put into practice, especially when they have a cultural history of putting others first, organisers of the festival say.

The AWF team began to notice that these expectations were negatively impacting them on an even bigger scale as the pandemic escalated.

Shani Dhanda (pictured), founder of the festival, said: "We are a team made up of many women that come from all walks of life, including students, mothers and entrepreneurs, with some losing their jobs and some moving countries during this period.

"One thing we all have in common is knowing how difficult it can be to make time for ourselves. That's why we have decided that this year's Asian Woman Festival will focus on helping South Asian women and underrepresented genders understand the power of putting yourself first."

The festival will bring together an impressive selection of contributors to provide festival attendees with the tools to work on self-compassion and appreciate the value of making yourself a priority.

Established in 2019 as a first-of-its-kind event, the festival will continue its mission to smash stereotypes, end taboos and empower South Asian women and underrepresented genders from all walks of life.

"Before I founded the festival I was looking for an event where I could meet like-minded people, and be able to share and discuss the challenges, as well as the beauty, of what it is to be an Asian woman living in the UK right now. There wasn't anything out there, so I decided to create it myself" explains festival founder Shani, a multi-award winning disability specialist and entrepreneur.

Shani was crowned the Future Face of Greater Birmingham 2020 and is vice-president of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce.

She added: "The success of our first festival demonstrated how much an event like this is needed for South Asian women and underrepresented genders.

"I love attending feminist events, but I often felt like my experiences as a South Asian woman are not always reflected in the content. So we are here to put South Asian women and underrepresented genders at the heart of our event. Representation is more important than ever, and true representation is intersectional."

The Asian Woman Festival will take place virtually on 20 March. Free tickets are available at www.asianwomanfestival.com