Over three days this November, eShe brings together leaders, practitioners and young changemakers from around the world for vibrant conversations on democracy, gender, identity, climate, culture, technology and the issues shaping our collective future.
Theme: Gender, Power, Resistance
Dates: 13 – 15 November 2026
Format: Virtual (Zoom live)
The Summit comes at a time when global peace, women’s safety, climate justice and democratic freedoms are increasingly under threat regionally and globally. We invite global thinkers, grassroots changemakers and women leaders from across South Asia and the diaspora to gather, find common ground across borders, and help chart a roadmap forward toward a just, inclusive and more compassionate world.
From media censorship to women’s political activism and the changing meaning of ‘progress’ and belonging, South Asia Union Summit 2026 creates space for perspectives, questions and conversations that cross national boundaries.
Notable speakers at past Summits have included a diverse array of voices, including peacebuilders Dr Scilla Elworthy and Dr Meenakshi Gopinath; actor and activist Nandita Das; award-winning filmmakers such as Leslie Udwin, Sabiha Sumar, Alankrita Srivastava and Mehreen Jabbar; thought leaders Dr Radha Kumar and Karen Downes; activists Hina Jilani, Ambika Satkunanathan and Manjula Pradeep, besides many more.
Further programming information will be updated on this page. Register for free.
HOW TO JOIN
All sessions are live on Zoom, in the evening in South Asia and the morning in North America.
Step 1: Register free. One registration covers all three days.
Step 2: Get your Zoom link. It arrives by email right away, with a reminder before each session. Add to calendar.
Step 3: Join live, 13-15 November. See the program. Speakers will be announced soon; registered participants hear first.
PROGRAM
Times are shown in US Eastern (EST) and India (IST). Speakers lists being updated.
(Click here to add the schedule to your Google calendar)
Friday, 13 November 2026
| Day 1: Keynote Session 08.00 AM EST 06.30 PM IST | S. Mona Sinha, global executive director and CEO of Equality Now, gender justice philanthropist; US National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee (2026) Zoom link by invitation only. Talk will be broadcast on Facebook. |
| Panel 1 09.00 AM EST 07.30 PM IST | Who Counts as ‘Us’? Nationalism, Migration and the Minority Question To examine how majoritarianism, under the banner of nationalism, is reshaping who counts as “us” in South Asia and USA. Dr Ruchika Sharma, public historian, PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, former media fellow at University of Essex, YouTuber Jayaa Jaggi, intersectional feminist, minority rights activist, peacebuilder, founder of SheMatters Pakistan Dr Marufa Akter, specializing in Bangladesh women’s political participation, gender and governance, and conflict resolution Hurunnessa Fariad, Afghan-origin American community leader advancing multi-faith peacebuilding in US, subject of the documentary Her Anthem (2025) |
| Panel 2 11.00 AM EST 09.30 PM IST | Who Owns the Intelligence: AI, Technology and Systemic Bias To examine how AI and digital technologies can reproduce gender, caste, class and racial inequalities, and who builds, benefits from and bears the costs of these systems. Chaitra Vedullapalli, award-winning technology entrepreneur; cofounder and president of Women in Cloud Shreya Krishnan, managing director, AnitaB.org India; chair, Policy Advocacy Committee, UNESCO Women for Ethical AI (South Asia) |
*Speaker lists being updated
Saturday, 14 November 2026
| Day 2: Keynote Session 06.00 AM EST 04.30 PM IST | Dr. Aishath Rafiyya, multi-award-winning Maldivian governance leader, former diplomat, politician, and advocate for women’s and youth empowerment Zoom link by invitation only. Talk will be broadcast on Facebook. |
| Panel 3 07.00 AM EST 05.30 PM IST | From Object to Author: When Women Control the Frame in Cinema To examine how South Asian women filmmakers are disrupting the patriarchal hierarchies of the industry, with a focus on authorship, representation and narrative power. Shazia Iqbal, Indian filmmaker and former production designer, director-screenwriter of the award-winning short Bebaak, feature film Dhadak 2 and docu-drama Homecoming Anam Abbas, feminist filmmaker, director of This Stained Dawn about Pakistan’s Aurat March, producer of Showgirls of Pakistan and In Flames, cofounder of Documentary Association of Pakistan Sulochana Peiris, documentary filmmaker, researcher and writer; creator of GoHomeGota, a documentary about Sri Lanka’s 2022 Aragalaya mass protest movement Tribeny Rai, Sikkim-based filmmaker of Shape of Momo, a multi-award winning Nepali-language film about patriarchy and empowerment MODERATOR: Sonali Gulati, independent filmmaker, feminist and queer rights activist, film studies professor, USA |
| Panel 4 08.30 AM EST 07.00 PM IST | Truth Under Fire: Media Censorship and Propaganda Press To examine how censorship, state pressure and propaganda are shaping what people can read, watch and say, and who pays the price when journalism is silenced. Anuradha Bhasin, senior journalist, managing editor of Kashmir Times, internet-freedom activist, author of A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370 Zahra Nader, founding editor-in-chief of award-winning Afghan women-led newsroom Zan Times, formerly with The New York Times bureau in Kabul Niha Masih, award-winning international correspondent with reporting experience from a dozen countries; writer, This is India newsletter, The Guardian; formerly with The Washington Post MODERATOR: Natasha Badhwar, author, filmmaker, columnist, teacher and writing coach; two-time winner of Laadli Media Award |
| Panel 5 10.00 AM EST 08.30 PM IST | Body as Battleground: Gender, Sexuality, Culture and Resistance To examine how bodies, sexuality and gender norms become sites of control and of resistance, and how culture, religion, and the state shape women’s and queer people’s bodily expression and wellbeing. Farah Ahamed, human-rights lawyer, editor of Period Matters: Menstruation in South Asia, founder of Kenyan charity Panties with Purpose Paromita Vohra, filmmaker, feminist artist, founder and creative of Agents of Ishq, a platform for positively representing sex in India through various media forms Dr Sameena Rahman, obstetrician and gynecologist based in Chicago, author of Brown Girls’ Disease? A Guide to Sexual Health and Empowerment Through a South Asian Lens MODERATOR: Suparnaa Chadda, media personality, UN Women WEP Awardee, founder of SABERA Awards |
*Speaker lists being updated
Sunday, 15 November 2026
| Day 3: Keynote Session 05.30 AM EST 04.00 PM IST | Lily Wangchuk, Bhutanese politician, diplomat, activist and author; the first woman to lead a political party in Bhutan Zoom link by invitation only. Talk will be broadcast on Facebook. |
| Panel 6 06.30 AM EST 05.00 PM IST | The Future of Democracy: Gen Z, Women and Political Activism To examine how women political activists, and especially younger women, are leading from the front when it comes to challenging increasingly authoritarian leadership, divisive rhetoric and political violence in South Asian and Western democracies. Tanuja Pandey, lawyer, cofounder and president of Harin Nepal; one of the leading faces of Nepal’s Gen-Z movement in 2025 along with Balen Shah Umama Fatema, prominent student leader and democracy advocate, recognized for her leadership during the historic July–August 2024 mass uprising in Bangladesh MODERATOR: Trishia Nashtaran, feminist activist, community organizer and foresight strategist; founder of Meye Network, Bangladesh |
| Panel 7 08.00 AM EST 06.30 PM IST | Who Pays for Progress? Climate Change, Gender and Neocolonialism To examine who bears the costs and who holds the power in the global climate transition, resource extraction, adaptation and development. Manshi Asher, prominent Indian environmental justice activist and researcher; co-founder Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective in Himachal Pradesh Monira Sharmin, disaster and climate risk management practitioner, columnist, Bangladeshi politician and activist; founding convener of Jatiya Nari Shakti MODERATOR: Priscilla Ranjitkar, sustainability and transportation demand management professional based in Washington, DC |
| Panel 8 09.30 AM EST 08.00 PM IST | Gender Activism 4.0: Influencers, Cyberfeminism and Digital Cultures To examine how digital platforms are changing feminist activism, from influencers and online campaigns to cyberfeminist movements and the digital cultures they create. Sofia Shah, content creator based in LA, founder of She Builds Nepal, former Nepali national swimmer and advocate for women in sport Muskan Madaan, Indian digital creator, feminist influencer and speaker from Himachal Pradesh, India Priya Sigdel, Nepali activist, Miss Nepal Earth 2018, cofounder and president of the feminist nonprofit Hatti Hatti Nepal MODERATOR: Sunila Lohia, fashion influencer and biotech professional working in generative AI, Washington, DC |
| Panel 9 11.00 AM EST 09.30 PM IST | Patriarchy, ‘Purity’ and Power: Breaking the Chains of Caste and Gender To expose how caste and patriarchy combine to turn women into guardians of “purity”, how Dalit and other marginalized women are hit hardest, and how families, religious institutions and the state keep these hierarchies in place. Christina Dhanuja, author, cofounder of the #DalitHistoryMonth project and a founding member of the Global Campaign for Dalit Women Bridhika Senchury, prominent Nepali social activist, researcher and media producer; co-founder and campaign lead of the Dalit Lives Matter Global Alliance MODERATOR: Shailee Chaudhary, human-rights lawyer, Australia Awards Scholar, queer feminist activist |
*Speaker lists being updated
Free to attend.
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