Remembering 20th Century South Asian Women in Culture – Second Session

Join us for the Second Session of the online forum under the theme ‘Remembering 20th Century South Asian Women in Culture’

Date: Wednesday, 21st May 2025

Time: 3pm-5pm (Sri Lanka Standard Time)

 

Join via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86295594642

Meeting ID: 862 9559 4642

 

This online forum will feature five women figures whose contributions and ideas helped shape the South Asian cultural landscape in the 20th Century, a period of significant social, cultural, and economic change.

 

The forum will feature:

INDIA

Dr. Kapila Vatsayan (1928-2020) – scholar of Indian classical dance, art, theatre traditions, architecture, and art history and founding director of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)

 

PAKISTAN

Bano Qudsia (1928-2017) – Pakistani novelist and playwright

 

BHUTAN

Gyalyum Phuntsho Choden Wangchuk (1911-2003), the queen of the second king of Bhutan

 

MALDIVES

Al-Nabeela Aminath Hussein (1917-1990) – Principal of the first girl’s school in the Maldives, member of the first Parliament formed in the Republic of Maldives and a prominent poetess

 

SRI LANKA

Sivagami Verina Obeyesekere (1929-2017) – former Cabinet Minister of Health, educationist, and founder of Laksala and Lakpahana

 

Our Speakers:

  • Swati Ganguly, Dept. of English, Visva-Bharati Santiniketan, West Bengal, India
  • Moneeza Hashmi, Trustee of Faiz Foundation and distinguished media and broadcasting professional, Pakistan
  • Sonam Choden, Postdoctoral Researcher ERC Synergy Project Intellexus University of Hamburg, Germany
  • Mariyam Isha Azeez, Member, Nationhood Council, Ministry of Dhivehi Language, Culture and Heritage, Maldives
  • Darshi Thoradeniya, Department of History, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka