Kaneeka’s Story #findyourinnerwarrior
Say hi to Kaneeka, a British South Asian future lawyer. Her story starts at time in her life she felt confused as to where she belonged due to her hyphenated background, she was British and Asian but she felt like no one really understood her. She found this was because of a lack of representation of women that looked like her in mainstream western media, there never seemed to be anyone she could identify with. In South Asian culture we are taught competition over collaboration.
Kaneeka decided to start a page where South Asian women could come together to share experiences, thoughts and advice in a safe space. This is when @pardesi.blog was born. The page was inspired by seeing other positive platforms such as @the_indian_feminist and @crownthebrown. Pardesi means foreigner and for Kaneeka this was a great way to connect with other women from the same heritage trying to find themselves too. The page and website is run by a group of accomplished women from all around the world to create content that pushes the boundaries of how South Asian women are represented and to talk about topics that are sometimes seen as taboo. For example a piece in collaboration with the dating app DilMil discussing female masturbation and its portrayal in Bollywood cinema. Topics like these are not openly spoken about within South Asian communities however Pardesi creates an environment of openness to discuss important issues.
As well as this Pardesi offers a platform for many South Asian females to connect and develop their careers whether it may be in law, marketing, illustration and many more. The best example of this is their mentorship programme which allows young South Asian females to gain the right support to progress in their chosen industries with the guidance of experienced professionals. As a minority female it is a lot harder to make progress in certain industries and have people take you seriously due to the way you are stereotyped sometimes but in order to liberate a community collaboration of professionals is needed. There are also many other ways you can participate so please feel free to send in blog pieces, illustrations, songs or videos to @pardesi.blog.