World Making Words: Connecting women's literary agency, activism and enterprise in South Asia

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of Kali for Women, the first South Asian publishing house exclusively dedicated to promoting women's writing.

This pioneering feminist initiative sought to advance gender equality by providing a platform for women's voices, perspectives and experiences, overcoming gendered barriers to publication and creative careers.

Kali's entry onto the South Asian publishing scene can be placed in a wider context of women's cultural activism in the 1970s and 1980s, a worldwide movement seeking to harness the creative imagination's power to inspire social and cultural change.

Yet, while the significance of comparable Western ventures - including Virago Press in the UK - is widely recognised, the achievements of South Asian women's literary activism are less well-known.

Moreover, although 20th and 21st-century women artists and activists have been empowered by a sense of collective purpose fostered by cross-border solidarity, prevailing Western assumptions, hierarchies and perspectives can obscure the priorities of women in the Global South.

Indeed, women's struggles for access to education and employment, reproductive choice, freedom from violence and other rights in South Asia are informed by complex factors. These include both the legacies of colonialism, nationalism, state formation, geopolitics and sustainable development agendas, and the impact of changing economies, uneven access to resources, climate crisis, and the rise of new digital technologies.

The network will generate fresh insights into how such conditions have shaped publication contexts for women's writing across South Asia. In-depth exploration of the creative content and cultural impact of women's writing will be combined with close consideration of factors enabling and obstructing the production, circulation, and reception of women's words.

Uniquely, the network will realise its goals by bringing together writers, researchers and creative and cultural industry professionals, and activists from the UK, South Asia, and beyond.

Thematic events including keynote speeches, book group discussions, cross-sector roundtables, skills development workshops, public readings, performances and panels, will overcome barriers to sharing vital knowledge and expertise.

Together, scholars from arts, humanities and social sciences backgrounds will explore and synthesise literary, cultural, historical, social, political and economic perspectives on South Asian women's writing from the early 20th century to the present.

Conversations will be enriched by insights from authors, editors, translators, and publishers and contributions from organisations working to promote gender equality, freedom of expression and international cultural exchange, such as Zubaan, SHiFT and Apne Aap Women Worldwide.

Activities will be delivered in partnership with South Asian and UK-based organisations including Kerala and Stirling Universities, Cartwright Gallery, Bradford, and international literary and art magazine The Missing Slate, as well as new initiatives working to support and promote South Asian women scholars and writers, such as the Islamabad Chapter of the Contemporary Women's Writing Association and Pakistan Association of Women Publishers and Editors.

Next generation UK and South Asian scholars will benefit from postgraduate travel bursaries (enabling participation in network events), leadership experience (as members of the Advisory Board), and professional development opportunities.

New insights, knowledge, and practice generated will be shared with wider academic, industry and public audiences through talks, workshops and performances featuring leading and emerging South Asian women authors, editors, publishers, and translators, as well as publications in online literary and cultural periodicals, a publicly accessible project website, collaboratively authored academic essays, and a journal Special Issue.