The SEEMA

THE SEEMA SISTERHOOD SALON

Where the SEEMA Network came together to embrace camaraderie and empowerment

PHOTOS CREDIT: SHARMEEN CHAUDHARY

The SEEMA Network congregated September 14, 2022 at the Delhi Art Gallery in Manhattan, New York, to celebrate the power of leadership and female empowerment with the SEEMA

Sisterhood Salon.

Surrounded by art created by eminent and under-appreciated South Asian artists, the salon featured a candid discussion on ways women can come together to tell each other’s stories and lift each other up.

The discussion was spearheaded by a panel of three eminent speakers: author

Chitra Divakaruni; activist, actress, and author Nandana Sen; and nonprofit founder and lawyer Reshma Saujani.

The three women discussed how tales of women have been told through historical literature, such as Divakaruni’s, as well as contemporary works, such as with Sen and Saujani.

We were joined also by Kavita Mehra, the executive director of Sakhi for South Asian Women, who touched upon topics of gender-related abuse and justice, particularly among members of the diaspora.

Founder and editor-in-chief Seema Kumar moderated the panel and also announced the SEEMA Network’s brand new leadership initiative.

A speaker’s bureau, as part of the initiative, was announced to provide a platform for women in executive positions the opportunity to confer and share their thoughts and experiences for the betterment of the community.

Attendees mingled over appetizers and cocktails, and got to purchase Divakaruni’s latest book, “The Last Queen,” and Sen’s translation of her mother’s poetry, “Acrobat.”