Movement Archives & History:
The South Asian Gender-Based Violence Movement in the US
As we learn more, we will continue to update this Movement History, and if you’d like to share a piece of history or resource to add, please email us at hello@southasiansoar.org.
The birth of the South Asian feminist movement in America
In the seventies and eighties, South Asian women across the nation organized to create an alternative to white feminism and white feminist spaces, in which they were marginalized. What emerged was a space to discuss their experiences navigating identity, sexism, classism, and violence in the context of their lives as South Asians for the first time. This led to discovery and location of domestic and marital violence as a shared, urgent, and political issue.
From this, began the movement to address gender-based violence in South Asian communities in America. This momentum led to the growth of what came to be known as the South Asian Women’s Organizations, or SAWOs which created a space for strategy, advocacy, and community organizing and direct services to those experiencing violence.
Some of the earliest organizations included Manavi, Sakhi for South Asian Women, Raksha, Apna Ghar, Manavi, and Sneha. These organizations focused on addressing the cultural and structural differences that exist uniquely for the South Asian community in the United States. Advocate and sociologist Maggie Abraham, describes the SAWOs’ work as providing “the impetus for social change at the level of the individual, community, and the larger society.”
The evolution into a cohesive movement for gender justice
While each of these organizations operated independently, they were grounded in shared ideologies and visions. In 1999, we began to see formal collaboration and convergence as many of the SAWOs came together at the Millenium conference in Chicago. This conference spurred the creation of many culturally-specific institutes addressing domestic and gender-based violence including the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence (API-GBV) in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, Esperanza United in the Latinx community, and Ujima in the Black community.
Beginning in 2002, the SAWOs came together at Aarohan, a national training and technical assistance conference hosted by Manavi and funded by the Office of Violence Against Women. It brought together activists, survivors, and many individuals working with South Asian survivors in one room. From keynotes, to panels and discussions, these conferences covered topics such as forced marriage, transnational abandonment, engaging with faith communities, engaging men, child sexual abuse, capacity building, and more. Following Aarohan, even more projects such as Breaking the Silence which focused on bystander intervention came into existence. In 2015, Aarohan came to an end and many of the SAWOs continued to connect through South Asian Americans Leading Together, or SAALT’s, National Coalition of South Asian Organizations.
In tandem, from 2012 to 2015, leaders from Sakhi organized national convenings to discuss the state of the field, shared policy positions, and organize for collective national action. They focused on immigration, healthcare, mental health, reproductive justice, prevention, racial justice, and forced marriage. This work led to a week on the Hill in DC to advocate for the needs and rights of South Asian women. Their collaboration and advocacy paved the way for shared national advocacy for gender justice.
In late 2018, the SAWOs convened again in solidarity and friendship, brought together by national events that impacted the movement at-large.
The timeline of the movement
2020 | September
The story of South Asian SOAR begins! In September 2020, leaders from community-based organizations across the nation began meeting to discuss the imminent need for a national forum. Over the next few months, SOAR’s co-founders, including Kavita Mehra (Sakhi), Aparna Bhattacharryya (Raksha), Rachna Khare (Daya), Veda Kamra (formerly at Sakhi), Navneet Bhalla (Manavi), and Amrita Doshi (formerly at Sakhi), along with organizations across the country met to co-create a mission, vision, and guiding principles. Within months, SOAR was born to build a unified, national anti-violence movement for safety, healing, and justice in the South Asian diaspora.
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2018 | January
The SAWOs united to write and share a statement and call to action in solidarity with the Indo-Carribean community in response to the brutal murder of Stacy Singh.
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2015 | May
In May, leaders across 6 SAWOs stewarded by Sakhi’s former Executive Director, Tiloma Jayasinghe, shared a position statement with partners in DC, and then set up follow-up conversations and presentations to advocate for these priorities as a coalition.
As a part of the coalition’s work in DC, SAWO leaders Tiloma Jayasinghe and Aparna Bhattacharyya moderated and spoke on a panel hosted by New America. The discussion covered the Asian American community's experience of the Violence Against Women Act.
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2015 | January
Sakhi convened the SAWOs to plan policy advocacy work in May 2015, debrief the status of PRENDA, and discuss strategies for coalition-building. This convening was led by Tiloma Jayasinghe, formerly the Executive Director of Sakhi, and Shivana Jorawar, formerly at NAPAWF.
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2014 | April
Sakhi held a follow-up gathering to their inaugural summit to bring together NYC based anti-violence organizations to discuss policy goals and create a shared vision of an inclusive anti-domestic violence movement.
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2013 | August
Manavi hosted their 5th annual conference, Aarohan: South Asian Women RISE UP Against Violence in New Brunswick, NJ.
Aarohan 2013 addressed many topics that were crucial to the development of SAWO work and in the wellbeing of women everywhere. Aarohan consisted of four plenary sessions and ten workshops that explored issues such as sexual violence, cultural sensitivity, transnational abandonment, forced marriage, and other related topics.
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2013 | January
The SAWOs united through SAALT’s NCSO to share a solidarity statement in response to the gruesome rape and murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey in Delhi in December 2012.
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2012 | November
Sakhi hosted many of the SAWOs at a convening at Barnard College in New York City to discuss son preference and sex selection among South Asians in the US.
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2011 | October
Sakhi held its first first-ever summit for social justice leaders in New York City: Preventing Violence, Promoting Justice. With support and input from this rich network, Sakhi organized a two-day event in late October 2011, at New York University’s Kimmel Center, bringing in participants from states including New Mexico, Illinois, and California, and from Canada.
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2009 | November
The SAWOs united through SAALT’s NCSO to write and sign a letter to Lynn Rosenthal, the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, and Tina Tchen, the Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls. The letter addressed the unique concerns of South Asian survivors ranging from linguistic and cultural barriers to immigration consequences to transnational factors that can exacerbate dangerous situations.
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2009 | February
The SAWOs united through SAALT’s NCSO to send a call to action to community members, religious groups, cultural and civic organizations, policymakers, allies and media to take on the task of ending domestic violence.
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2008 | August
Manavi hosted their 3rd annual conference, Aarohan in New Brunswick, NJ.
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https://www.sakhi.org/aarohan-convenes-south-asian-groups/
2007
Jahajee Sisters is founded in New York City, NY and hosts their inaugural Indo-Caribbean Women’s Empowerment Summit.
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Body Evidence: Intimate Violence Against South Asian Women in America is published and edited by Shamita Das Dasgupta including essays from a number of movement scholars.
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2006
Chetna was founded in Dallas, TX.
2005
Turning Point was founded in New York City, NY.
2004
Arizona South Asians for Safe Families (ASAFSF) was founded in Scottsdale, AZ.
2003 | August
Manavi hosted their 2nd annual conference, Aarohan: South Asian Women RISE UP Against Violence, bringing together nearly 130 South Asian women’s advocates and anti-violence activists. The conference included panel discussions such as: “Beyond Borders: A Global Perspective on Violence Against South Asian Women.” and “Dismantling Patriarchy: Domestic Violence at the Intersection of Multiple Oppressions.”
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2002 | August
Manavi hosted the inaugural conference, Aarohan: South Asian Women RISE UP Against Violence to facilitate South Asian women’s rising up to resist the violence and oppression experienced in their lives and communities. The goal of the conference was for participants to build their capacities through dialogue, networking, and creative strategizing. The conference was supported by funding from the Office of Violence against Women
Aarohan is the Hindi word for "ascent" or "rising up."
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AAROHAN 2003: South Asian women rise up against violence.
2002
Asha Ray of Hope was founded in Columbus, OH.
2001
Asians Against Domestic Abuse was founded in Houston, TX.
2000
Speaking the Unspeakable: Marital Violence Among South Asian Immigrants in the United States was published by advocate and sociologist Margaret Abraham. It was the first book to focus on South Asian women's experiences of domestic violence. Abraham explains how immigration issues, cultural assumptions, and unfamiliarity with American social, legal, economic, and other institutional systems, coupled with stereotyping, make these women especially vulnerable to domestic violence. She also describes the central role played by South Asian activism as it emerged in the 1980s in the United States.
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1998
Kiran was founded in Raleigh, NC.
Sneha was registered in West Hartford, Connecticut.
1997
SAWERA was founded.
1996
Saheli was founded in Boston, MA.
API Chaya (formerly Chaya) was founded in Seattle, WA.
Daya was founded in Houston, TX.
1995
Raksha was founded in Atlanta, GA.
1992
Narika was founded in Fremont, CA.
Domestic Harmony Foundation was founded in Long Island, NY.
Asian Family Support Services of Austin (formerly Saheli Austin) was founded in Austin, Texas.
1991
SAHARA was founded in Cerritos, CA.
Maitri was founded in the Bay Area, CA.
1990
South Asian Network (SAN) was founded in Cerritos, CA.
1989
Sakhi for South Asian Women was founded in New York City, NY.
Ashiyanaa (formerly known as Asha for Women) was founded in Bethesda, MD.
Apna Ghar was founded in Chicago, Illinois.
1986
Mai Family Services was founded in Livonia, Michigan.
1985
Manavi was founded in New Jersey.