January 2018

Borderlands

I live in borderlands where cobwebs spin my fingers together and sun burns the mark of earth on my tongue. My home is two places and none. Born here and there, speaking the languages of both, my greatest fluency is silence.

by Anne Walsh

Editor's Note·Empowerment

Editor’s Note – Talking About The Untalked

I take great pleasure in inviting you all to the very first edition of FemAsia Magazine. I am more than delighted, excited, and elated to see the Launch of FemAsia. Some time ago, I did a painting, acrylic on canvas. Imagine,

by Shameela Yoosuf Ali

Fictional Arts·Painting

An Interview With Abdul Salim Kochi- A Gifted Artist From India

“Though I am living in Kochi, a city, my mind is filled with the sceneries of my native village Ottappalam.” This beautiful village seems to be the inspiration behind Artist Abdul Salim’s breathtakingly beautiful landscapes, paddy fields, snake charmers, dancers and

by FemAsia Team

Fictional Arts·Literature

Lost in Red

01. Sat in the spiritual place on a Friday After checking your availability You are busy at home I entered the place. You too joined me in the line of Prayers shoulder by shoulder with others I smiled at me Not sure

by Munas Kalden

Politics & Culture

The Feminine Struggle With Femininity

A deck of large yellow cards were spread out in front of me. A yellow-haired Australian girl sat behind them smiling wide. “Pick the one you’re most drawn to,” she said. They were all face down and the backs of them

by Kathy Shalhoub

Fictional Arts·Literature

Sipping The Moon

Amid the limbs of Burning up birch trees, Blazes the crimson sun clock I return home, Doves are fluttering away from my fingers… One blend of yellow and white… An attic pigeon sequinned with beads… A bird with eyes kohled

by Shameela Yoosuf Ali

Politics & Culture

Charlottesville – Where Do They All Come From, Where Do They All Belong?

A couple of weeks ago, hundreds of white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville and chanted “White Lives Matter”. Which sparked a clash between anti-fascist groups and white supremacist groups. Resulting in three dead and dozens injured. Why do we see a

by Kasun Thilina

Politics & Culture

Pornography : Commodification Of Women In Predatory Capitalism

“The new pornography is left-wing; the new pornography is a vast graveyard where the Left has gone to die. The Left cannot have its whores and its politics too.” – Andrea Dworkin India has banned porn sites and consuming porn

by Farhan Wahab

Fictional Arts·Literature

Fairytale of Darkness

Wide-opened arms of the poem embrace the solitary flame, dancing alone in this dark. while the book kept aside a girl of half nightingale and devil of another descends Through creviced shells of poetry. “What more do you know about the dark?”

by Fatheek Aboobucker

Fictional Arts·Literature

Deconstruct

Hair traitorous grey shameful need to pretend anti aging. Plucking, dilapidating; dyeing, dying. Betrayal of knees, hands, feet, neck (knees!) circled & magnified, almost expired — quick sale! The male body needing no such revision. His landscape a shameless prairie

by Michele Seminara

Food & Travel

Tale of Tea Around The World

“If you are cold, tea will warm you; If you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you.” William Ewart Gladstone Tea is strongly

by Shameela Yoosuf Ali

Fictional Arts·Literature

#Melanin

This word that keeps poppin’ on my Instagram feed Means so little, so it seems To crafty marketers and vacuous beauties Hash-tagging like tomorrow Will never come Kindled to autoignition point, Melanin shot golden stars out of their hiding places

by Meghana Bahar

Politics & Culture

Who Is The Fairest Of Us All-The Politics Of Colour Shaming

Remember the dark Queen in Snow White, Who used to stand in front of her mirror and ask this question? Dreading the answer, in case she was not deemed the ‘fairest’ which, in the fairy tale, meant the most beautiful?

by Devika Brendon

Fictional Arts

The Art of Sharing Stories And Bridging Cultures

As an editor of anthologies of fiction from South Asia and Australia, I have the privilege of reading original, creative and gripping stories. My work with South Asian, Australian and South Asian—Australian writers and academics led me to my research for

by Sharon Rundle

Fictional Arts·Literature

Unamused

Why all this vilification, boy? Had you thought that I was your toy? That my every day and every night Was dedicated solely to you by right? Designed, was I, to pledge you my troth, By vocation and avocation, both?

by Sharon Dinasha Stephen

Holistic Health

Stigma Surrounding Cancer In The South Asian Community

Stigma to mental health is well documented across all cultures, particularly within the South Asian community. Stigma to cancer is also highly prevalent among the South Asian community, in contrast to the Western world where cancer is perceived as a

by Kanchana De Abrew

Politics & Culture

Straddling Eras Has Never Been This Difficult

“Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it and wiser than the one that comes after it” – George Orwell When eras overlap, as they always do, the

by Sharada Natarajan

Empowerment·Social Justice

We Write Your Rights

The Challenge Of Creating Educational Material For Women Refugees As academics dealing with real-life educational issues with important socio-political dimensions, we often need to struggle in order to find a balance between our allegiance to our research goals, our ideological

by Roula

Empowerment·Memoirs

Let Us Keep This Our Secret- Child Sexual Abuse

I kept it hidden, my skeleton in the closet, not to be aired for fear of what society would say.I am a survivor of child sexual abuse. I didn’t make the decision to talk about my experience lightly. But I

by Kumudini David

Fictional Arts·Literature

Soul

You see, You are much too old. Your river seeks canyons to carve. Your melodies are not music. Not yet. Your language is yet to be born. You are of the Sea, the Earth, the Breeze. You are Freedom. You are

by Megan Dhakshini

Mind Wellness

Enjoy A Life Long Health And Happiness – An Interview With Angelo Pereira

Angelo Pereira is a fitness guru who developed the concept of FIT for Life, with the simple intention of planning one’s fitness journey, not for just one’s physical prime, but to continue for life. A person should aim to be fit

by Devika Brendon

Fictional Arts·Literature·Poetry·Social Justice

Peace

Let the marching swallow, let the battalions breathe, Let the olive wreath be upon their swords, Let their mind encompass a peaceful tree And say; ‘Let’s fight this war and bring harmony’ Man against man, rivers of red, Neither party

by Hasna Naushad

Empowerment

Children And The Beauty Industry

A parent I know was very keen on getting his children featured in advertisements. His daughter who just 5 and was chosen for a shoot. Because she was said to be very cute. I was rather surprised because I believe

by Lilanka Botejue

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