Newspaperwali 2.0: Everybody Loves a Good Comeback!

Newsletter relaunch date, news from South Asia, reading recommendations, ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier and more.

Apr 13, 2025

Five years ago, I launched this newsletter at the height of the pandemic with a singular mission: to highlight the lives and writings of South Asian women and make sense of the rapidly changing world around me.

Hundreds of you joined to read and share what you thought about these issues.

As I pick up the pen/keyboard again, it’s not just about reviving old practices. It’s clear: people are hungry for depth, authenticity, and meaningful analysis.

Newspaperwali 2.0 aims to foster informed discussions in our fast-paced, ever-shifting world and, above all, seeks to place women and gender at the heart of these conversations. Whether it's unpacking global events, offering local perspectives, or shedding light on untold stories, the comeback is real and it’s here to stay.

📅 Mark your calendars! The first issue of Newspaperwali 2.0 will go out on April 17.

One tiny request, as I restart this newsletter, I’d love to hear from you. If you have a 2-5 minutes, below is a quick anonymous survey on what what I could do better this time around:

Survey

Your feedback means everything and can help shape what comes next.

In the meantime, check out some interesting reads:

📰 Gender News Minute

Female politicians in the Maldives face relentless online attacks without legal protection, systematically pushing them out of public service, according to Maldives Independent.
“There have been moments when I completely broke down and wanted to leave politics. The constant harassment is overwhelming," said 'Eleeza.'
"People attack me not just as a politician but as a mother and wife...I should be home rather than in politics...My children have had to read false stories about me," said 'Zaayan.'
More than 50 prominent female Afghan women’s rights activists sheltering in Pakistan face deportation, where they fear they will be imprisoned or killed under Taliban rule, The Guardian reported. At least 844,499 Afghan nationals have been forcibly deported since Pakistan began mass deportations of Afghan refugees in September 2023, according to an Amnesty International report.
In India, the Chhattisgarh High Court ruled that forcing a woman to undergo a virginity test violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which safeguards her right to life, liberty, and dignity. The Supreme Court has held that "two-finger test" violated a woman's dignity and privacy at least twice before this.
Religiously conservative elements in Bangladesh are exploiting the unstable law and order situation to morally police women in public by questioning their choice of clothing or lifestyle, some women’s rights activists told BenarNews.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh of the Allahabad High Court recently remarked that a woman herself had invited trouble and was responsible for the alleged rape committed against her, according to a report by Bar and Bench. Singh granted bail to the accused who was arrested in December 2024 for alleged rape.

Feminist Watchlist

Read this important piece in the Gender, Work and Organization that critiques the silence within feminist scholarship regarding the ongoing genocide in Gaza, arguing that this silence actively legitimizes oppression and contradicts feminism's commitment to justice and solidarity.
As Audre Lorde once said, “Your silence will not protect you.”
Newsletters are back! Here are the ones I enjoyed reading this month:
- Sara Ahmed, the queen of feminist killjoys, has spoken. In her latest Substack, she reflects on microaggressions and how power is reproduced by making some forms of violence and harm seem small and subjective.
  “One way of failing to recognise demands for structural change is to make them appear as being about symbolic change,” Ahmed wrote. “As if, for instance, when trans people talk about pronouns they are being the language police and not struggling to exist on their own terms, to have access to the health care they need, or to use the public facilities where they can be as safe as possible, given the world.”
- Akshi Chawla’s Women Lead, a monthly round-up on women in politics, continues to go strong at Issue 160. Definitely a must have subscription if you're tracking gender and representation in global politics.
- BehanBox’s revived newsletters are quickly becoming my favorite. Their latest one on ASHA workers is a must-read, along with their look into what time-use surveys capture and where they fall short. Their Postcards newsletter also ends with a very interesting question on gender and care:
  “If a woman is peeling peas at the office in between work, does her time count as work or leisure?”
WATCH: ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2025 is currently underway in Pakistan, from April 9 to April 19. It features six teams - Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, and Thailand - competing for the final two spots in the upcoming Women's Cricket World Cup, scheduled for October and November 2025 in India.

About Newspaperwali

For those who are new to this space, or for those who may have forgotten, Newspaperwali is a bimonthly feminist newsletter that explores gender issues in South Asia and highlights the achievements of women across the region.

Some of the topics we have covered in the past include:

Each issue features:

A deep analysis on one key theme
Postcards spotlighting courageous South Asian women
Extensive feminist reading lists

The newsletter has also featured some brilliant guest writers and reporters from India, Maldives, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

About me: Newspaperwali is curated by Bansari Kamdar, a seasoned journalist and researcher. Prior to this, Kamdar worked as the Europe, Middle East, and Africa editor at Reuters News. As an independent reporter she has also contributed to The Boston Globe, Diplomat, and World Politics Review, among others.

Maybe your inbox is overflowing or maybe you just need some breathing space from news. If you ever feel like unsubscribing, no hard feelings at all.

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