Today, Shana is in conversation with satirist Mariam Shafqat Goraya. Through her character Naik Parveen, Mariam takes aim at women who are the “foot soldiers of patriarchy”. Mariam’s satire takes the sexist and misogynistic rhetoric that gets mentioned in private conversation, the stuff people don’t expect will get repeated, and she says it outloud through the characters she creates and, in the process, she uncomfortably forces us  out of our complacency.    Follow Mariam Shafqat Goraya on Instagram @naikparveensyndrome and Facebook Naik Parveen Syndrome   CREDITS: Host and Creative Director: Shana  This is a Maed in India production Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome Producer : Nikkethana Kamal, Sonali Gupta  Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni

In this episode, Shana is in conversation with Priyanka Paul, an illustrator, graphic designer, poet, and storyteller, who is also a Gucci Chime for Change ambassador and TED Talk speaker. Priyanka shares her lived experience as a queer, dark-skinned Christian woman from an oppressed caste, her encounters with online trolling and how she turns her anger into impactful art, carving out a space for those who stand apart and don't subscribe to  society's beauty ideals.   Follow Priyanka Paul on Instagram @artwhoring and Twitter @artwhoring   CREDITS: Host and Creative Director: Shana  This is a Maed in India production Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome Producer : Nikkethana Kamal, Sonali Gupta  Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni

In this episode, Shana is in conversation with Sheema Kermani. You may know Sheema as the dancer in the hit Coke Studios video of Pasoori but, for Sheema, dance is more than an artform. For her, it is also an act of defiance. A classically trained Bharatnatyam dancer, Sheema took on the Pakistani military dictator Zia-ul-Haq when he abolished public dancing. Since then, Sheema has steadfastly defended the rights of minorities and women. In this interview, Sheema talks about her activism, the early days of Aurat March and how she came to perform the feminist anthem “A Rapist in Your Path” in Urdu - a performance that connected Pakistan to the Fourth Wave of Feminism, which has ebbed and flowed around the globe.   Follow Sheema Kermani on Instagram @sheemakermani and Twitter @tehrikeniswan   CREDITS: Host and Creative Director: Shana  This is a Maed in India production Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome Producer : Nikkethana Kamal, Sonali Gupta  Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni

Leeza Mangaldas is a sex educator with 2 million YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers. GQ has named Leeza one of the most influential young Indians. She is also the author of The Sex Book. In this episode, Leeza talks to Shana about why the glossary of her book has words like “patriarchy” and “casteism” and “internalised oppression”. They also discuss orgasms and female sexuality, the social norm of female virginity and purity and why it is  time we get past guilt and shame-ridden frameworks that don’t serve women… or men.     Follow Leeza Mangaldas on Instagram @leezamangaldas and Twitter @leezamangaldas   CREDITS: Host and Creative Director: Shana  This is a Maed in India production Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome Producer : Nikkethana Kamal, Sonali Gupta  Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni

In this episode, Shana is in conversation with Sabah Bano Malik, a radio jockey and a founding member of a Pakistani comedians' collective called Aurat Nak. Shana asks Sabah what has surprised her and what she struggles with as a Pakistani American who moved to Pakistan as an adult. Sabah talks about her online presence, comedy as a way to reflect on society, body-shaming, toxic rishta culture, the anger she feels when women are brutally murdered and the sisterhood she has found in Aurat March and with the many women who are resisting patriarchy in Pakistan.    Follow Sabah Bano Malik on Instagram @sabahbanomalik and Twitter @sabahbanomalik   CREDITS: Host and Creative Director: Shana  This is a Maed in India production Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome Producer : Nikkethana Kamal, Sonali Gupta  Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni

In this episode, Shana is in conversation with comedian, actor and writer Radhika Vaz. We learn about Radhika’s journey to comedy and why she mines the desi female experience as a source for her material. Radhika is one half of the team behind Shugs and Fats, a Youtube series about two curious Muslim women who are navigating life in liberal Brooklyn. We talk about script-writing episodes in which women are doing the street catcalling and the shroud of shame is lifted on the dirty period. Oh, and we also imagine a world in which women just stopped getting married.    Follow Radhika Vaz on Instagram @radhikavaz Twitter @radvaz and Facebook Radhika Vaz   CREDITS: Host and Creative Director: Shana  This is a Maed in India production Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome Producer : Nikkethana Kamal,  Sonali Gupta  Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni  

Women from South Asia (and the global diaspora) are challenging patriarchal social norms and expectations by taking to the streets and using the bullhorn of social media to be heard.  Join Shana, our host, as she talks to social media influencers, street protestors, artists and film-makers who are making change happen. With millions of followers and supporters and numbers that keep growing, Her Kajal Won’t Smudge asks: are we witnessing a desi women’s liberation movement? Has its time finally come?