Celebrating International Women's Day in Bhopal, India

Hum Sab Gathering in Bhopal, India

It was a celebration of feminist resilience.

Approximately 2,000 people gathered in Bhopal, India in recognition of International Women’s Day. Coady staff Sarika Sinha (Program Teaching Staff) and Eileen Alma (Executive Director) attended.

“We came together under a banner called ‘hum sab’ which is a Hindi word for ‘all of us’,” Sarika explains.

“We were trying to celebrate the pluriversality of India. We came together and set up a forum in which all of us sat in a circle. Everyone was an equal participant. Women spoke about their own resilience and struggles. Some had won, some were still on the journey, and some had lost miserably. We all had the chance to speak.”

Several women’s groups performed artforms traditionally reserved for men.

“Kabir is a form of traditional music. In India, Kabir is only performed by men. We had women’s groups perform Kabir. So that was one way of challenging patriarchy,” Sarika explains.

The celebration included a screening of the film Ek Jagah Apni (A Place of Our Own) which documents the journey of Laila, a transgender woman struggling to rent an apartment in Bhopal, India. The featured woman hosted a question-and-answer session following the film.

“It was a celebration of feminist resilience,” Sarika reflects.