Interview

Interview – Shylashri Shankar
A close-up headshot of Shylashri Shankar. She is against a dark background and half of her face is in shadows. She is smiling and is wearing a red and black checkered shirt with a collar
Interview – Shylashri Shankar

So why do we have to have fixed notions of gender roles and food?
By Shikha Aleya
July 5, 2023
Interview – Shylashri Shankar
Interview – Sameera Khan
Photo of Sameera Khan. She has long black hair and is standing in a garden. She is wearing a black kurta, a deep emerald dupatta and a black necklace.
Interview – Sameera Khan

But what has been amazing to witness is how quickly young women in particular, took to the ideas of Why Loiter? and pushed them even further, creating new movements to expand women’s rights to the public, including the right to be out late at night, to stretch the curfew at women’s hostels, to demand extended access to women’s toilets, to public transport etc.
By Shikha Aleya
April 1, 2022
Interview – Sameera Khan
Interview – Sadhana Chathurvedula and Nirupama V
Interview – Sadhana Chathurvedula and Nirupama V

Sadhana Chathurvedula and Nirupama V have been exploring the phenomenon of Hallyu, the popularity and fan following of Korean entertainment…
By Shikha Aleya
November 1, 2021
Interview – Sadhana Chathurvedula and Nirupama V
Interview – Sadam Hanjabam
Photograph of Sadam Hanjabam. Sadam has short hair and a moustache. He is a wearing a light blue unbuttoned shirt over a black T-shirt. He is sitting with his hands clasped over a woden table. Behind him is a room with wooden structures and a painting on the wall. A light bulb is illuminating the table.
Interview – Sadam Hanjabam

When we are talking about the theme of embracing equity we can see sports as a neutral space that has the potential to be a space where everyone can connect, together, without language, and without the domination of any community over another.
By Shikha Aleya
April 6, 2023
Interview – Sadam Hanjabam
Interview – Rumi Harish
A photo of Rumi Harish
Interview – Rumi Harish

My assertion of my gender was not because of masculinity, it was because of the feminism which I practised – and that gave me this chance to come back to what I was. To assert what I was and to assert what I am.
By Shikha Aleya
May 19, 2025
Interview – Rumi Harish
Interview – Rituparna Borah
Interview – Rituparna Borah

Rituparna Borah is co-founder and co-director at Nazariya: A Queer Feminist Resource Group based in Delhi. Currently a fellow of…
By Shikha Aleya
September 1, 2021
Interview – Rituparna Borah
Interview – Ritambhara Mehta
Interview – Ritambhara Mehta

Ritambhara Mehta is with Nazariya, a Delhi-based queer feminist resource group.  Nazariya works on issues of gender and sexuality with a focus on issues of queer women and trans* persons.
By Shikha Aleya
February 17, 2020
Interview – Ritambhara Mehta
Interview – Ratnaboli Ray
black and white picture of activist ratnaboli ray wearing a black kurta and white dupatta
Interview – Ratnaboli Ray

See, whenever people speak about sexuality, they speak of violence; that seems to be the only recognised form of sexuality in the lives of people with mental health conditions. But there are so many happy, sexy, lovely, delicious stories in there.
By Shikha Aleya
June 1, 2018
Interview – Ratnaboli Ray
Interview – Raj Mariwala
A photograph of MHI director Raj Mariwala; she is playing with a grey-brown dog, squatting in grass.
Interview – Raj Mariwala

Self-care is influenced by the environment we inhabit, the way we relate to others, the way we negotiate with other living beings or structures. Self-care is also interlinked with other types of care – whether that is in community resources, psychosocial support, engagement with medical and health care institutions, and of course in collective agency and solidarity.
By Shikha Aleya
July 5, 2021
Interview – Raj Mariwala
Interview – Raj Mariwala
A photograph of MHI director Raj Mariwala; she is playing with a grey-brown dog, squatting in grass.
Interview – Raj Mariwala

Self-care is influenced by the environment we inhabit, the way we relate to others, the way we negotiate with other living beings or structures. Self-care is also interlinked with other types of care – whether that is in community resources, psychosocial support, engagement with medical and health care institutions, and of course in collective agency and solidarity.
By Shikha Aleya
January 3, 2023
Interview – Raj Mariwala
Interview – Raghavi S
Photograph of Raghavi S
Interview – Raghavi S

Language is one of the most intimate things we share with one another, more than bodies, more than time.

By Shikha Aleya
July 16, 2025
Interview – Raghavi S
Interview – Radhika Vaz
Photo of Radhika Vaz in a black flapper dress against a white background
Interview – Radhika Vaz

I think we are still in a trap of a heteronormative, youth biased, light skin biased, sizeist, ableist culture and until we consciously snap out of it we are throwing a cloak over a human being’s ability to really find what their sexuality even looks like.
By Shikha Aleya
May 4, 2023
Interview – Radhika Vaz
Interview – Radhika Vaz
Photo of Radhika Vaz in a black flapper dress against a white background
Interview – Radhika Vaz

I think we are still in a trap of a heteronormative, youth biased, light skin biased, sizeist, ableist culture and until we consciously snap out of it we are throwing a cloak over a human being’s ability to really find what their sexuality even looks like.
By Shikha Aleya
January 13, 2025
Interview – Radhika Vaz
Interview – Poornima Sukumar
Interview – Poornima Sukumar

We advocate the idea of reclaiming spaces in society by creating large wall-mural projects to raise awareness and to create a voice for the community. We are now finding more innovative ways to engage the community to come out in public spaces, also using the Internet and social media, to feel confident, safe and a sense of belonging.
By Shikha Aleya
August 14, 2020
Interview – Poornima Sukumar
Interview – Pavel Sagolsem
Interview – Pavel Sagolsem

Pavel Sagolsem, self–described, is a storyteller, vagabond at heart and queer feminist by practice. Pavel is a founding partner of…
By Shikha Aleya
December 15, 2020
Interview – Pavel Sagolsem
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