EDIT | SEEMA
GOING
BEYOND LIMITS
I
nternational Women’s Day and the month of March, both of which celebrates women’s history, holds a special spot in my heart – for obvious reasons. I like the idea of celebrating and reflecting on what it means to a woman today – warts and all. But there is another reason I hold this month dear. It is a month of personal anniversaries – of my wedding, of the launch of the SEEMA magazine platform two years ago, and of the first-ever SEEMA Summit a year ago, bringing together an impressive array of South Asian women who gathered with a collective purpose a few days before lockdown. To this day many of us remember the SEEMA Summit fondly, as the last large in-person gathering we had been to in ages. It seems that eons have passed, even though that was less than a year ago. March also marks spring for us in the United States. The clock turns forward, bringing more daylight into our lives. The snow begins to melt, and popping up from the quiescent earth are snowdrops and crocuses – tiny surprises of delight. There is the debauchery of St. Patrick’s Day to look forward to – with the luck of the Irish and the rare four leaf clover. For South Asians March is also the month of Holi, the festival of color, which also celebrates the arrival of spring, the end of winter, the harvest season, and the blossoming of love. It is a reason to celebrate the many prismatic shades of life, literally by throwing colors on yourself and others, to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships.
At SEEMA we feel that March brings it all together. It is a time to emerge out of hibernation, much like those snowdrops or crocuses, to test our many dormant aspirations as women. It is the perfect time to watch things grow, to reflect, to INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2021 choose, to challenge. That’s why this month’s issue focuses on women who are charting new paths, choosing to test new grounds. Our upcoming virtual SEEMA Summit 2021 will bring together the finest of all that is South Asian and feminine, to celebrate International Women’s Day and join those in the global movement who choose to challenge, and redefine what it means to be leaders in our community. In this issue, and at the SEEMA summit, we feature South Asian women leaders from London to LA, and Mumbai to Manhattan, Melbourne and beyond. Via live sessions and streamed taped content on SEEMA.com, our platform INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY | 2021 brings together the pick of South Asian women. Our topics – and the people we feature – reflect themes that SEEMA regularly covers while empowering women and fostering female entrepreneurs. SEEMA represents a growing global community that speaks for women who break barriers, influence change and create a better future for our next generation. We want to bring your their stories. So I invite you to read and be inspired by the 25? women of all ages and persuasions featured in this issue. Let us reimagine what it means to be a South Asian woman and celebrate our shared success in every community around the world.
Choose to Challenge
C hoose to
CHALLENGE
SEEMA KUMAR, FOUNDER MARCH 2021 | SEEMA.COM | 5
