Growing up in a country that has been in the constant grips of conflict, Omaid has been a beacon of hope for millions of young Afghans. His unique form of art-activism has enabled Afghans to talk about subjects that are taboo by painting large murals on the blast walls of Kabul and Afghanistan. With the current Taliban government, Omaid and his team have had to flee Afghanistan, however their heart remains in Kabul and are certain that they will return. In the fifth episode of Samavāya, he talks to Savera about the importance of books and imagination that allow millions of young Afghans to imagine a life full of peace and harmony.

The history and heritage of Afghanistan referred by Omaid can be found at the Kabul Museum (National Museum of Afghanistan)

ArtLords was established in 2014 by Omaid Sharifi and the ArtLords team paints murals on Kabul’s gray blast walls. Kabir Mokamel is the co-founder of ArtLords and the team has seventeen artivists who travel across Afghanistan and paint murals on the blast walls.

ArtLords had a dedicated campaign against corruption in Afghanistan. The purpose of the campaign was to increase awareness about the corruption in Afghanistan and how people should find ways to speak up against corruption.

Omaid often refers to the Taliban as ‘Talib’ in the podcast which is the singular version of Taliban and is often used to describe Taliban cardres.

Follow Omaid Sharifi on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Know more about ArtLords and follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. To support the work of ArtLords, you can check out their merchandise at their virtual shop. If you would like to support the cause of ArtLords, you can donate here.

This podcast is hosted by Savera Weerasinghe

Edited and Engineered by Nakul Agarwal

Intro & Outro Music: Sirfula Siraima by Nepathya

Interlude Music: Yani Maya by Nepathya

Know more about Nepathya

Samavāya is produced by Asia Society New York and Asia Society India Centre.

An activist, an ally and a journalist, Namgay is one of the most popular social media figures in Bhutan. She has been a constant voice in the Himalayan Kingdom advocating for LGBTQ rights, mental health, gender equity, environmental caution and creating a more aware and inquisitive society. In episode four of Samavāya, Namgay talks to Savera about her academic years and how her Buddhist upbringing while studying in a Catholic environment urged her to ask questions, which made her into the unbiased journalist she is today. 

Check out Namgay’s podcast “Hello from Bhutan!” where she speaks with the Queer community of Bhutan. 

Bhutan’s first Ms. Universe, Tashi Choden is Bhutan’s first openly gay public figure. Namgay Zam has an exclusive interview with Tashi Choden which you can find here. 

In 2017, Namgay Zam had to leave Bhutan after an emotionally and mentally draining legal battle with an influential businessman in Bhutan. The businessman had accused Namgay of defamation due to her social media posts. This was one of the biggest defamation lawsuits in Bhutan and was covered extensively by Bhutanese and international media. 

In 2021, Bhutan decriminalised homosexuality when King Druk Gyalpo gave his royal assent to the Bhutan’s Penal Code Amendment Act. 

Phuntsho Namgyel is a Forester who turned a Bureaucrat and eventually became a political ecologist and frequently writes about the environmental issues being faced by Bhutan. 

Maria Ressa is a journalist based out of Manila, Philippines and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2021 for her journalism on ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial anti-drug campaign. 

Bhutan’s Health Minister, Her Excellency Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo and the Bhutanese Queen, Her Excellency Jetsun Pema have initiated the ‘Maternal Care Package’ programme for new mothers in Bhutan. 

Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-American best-selling novelist known for his works like “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse was published in 1922 and was inspired by the author’s visit to India during World War I. 

Follow Namgay Zam on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

This podcast is hosted by Savera Weerasinghe 

Edited and Engineered by Nakul Agarwal 

Intro & Outro Music: Sirfula Siraima by Nepathya 

Interlude Music: Siran Ma Photo Chha by Nepathya 

Know more about Nepathya 

Samavāya is produced by Asia Society New York and Asia Society India Centre.

Prisoners are often the most neglected group in society and hardly is there ever any interest in providing prisoners, their families and their children with basic human rights. Indira Ranamagar has been working towards prisoner reform programmes and providing welfare to the children of prisoners for the last eighteen years. She joins Savera Weerasinghe in episode three of Samavāya to talk about how her upbringing molded her into a strong, feisty and independent woman, and why she felt her calling was to rescue and rehabilitate children of incarcerated persons in Nepal. 

Prisoner’s Assistance Nepal is an organization constantly working towards providing basic needs and human rights to prisoners and their children in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

The World’s Children's Prize is one of the world's largest annual education programs empowering children to become changemakers who can stand up for the equal value of all people, the Rights of the Child, democracy and sustainable development. Indira Ranamagar was awarded the prize in 2014. 

Parijaat (Bishnu Kumar Waiba) played a major role in influencing Indira and her work. Parijaat is a famous poet and author and is best known for her novel “Shiris ko Phool”. She was a social activist and a feminist and contributed extensively to Nepali literature. 

Learn about the dedicated “Children Homes” in Kathmandu, Palpa, and Jhapa that Indira Ranamagar talks about where Nature is used for healing children from their past and trauma. 

Aama in Nepal means Mother. ‘Aama ko Khana’ means ‘Mother’s Food’. 

Follow Indira Ranamagar on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Follow Prisoner’s Assistance Nepal on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

This podcast is hosted by Savera Weerasinghe 

Edited and Engineered by Nakul Agarwal 

Intro & Outro Music: Sirfula Siraima by Nepathya 

Interlude Music: Naina Tala by Nepathya 

Know more about Nepathya 

Samavāya is produced by Asia Society New York and Asia Society India Centre.

Digital Rights for Women is rarely a topic of discussion in South Asia, but Nighat Dad has been the pioneer in advocating for a free and fair internet for the women of South Asia. As a lawyer and founder of Digital Rights Foundation, Nighat campaigns for laws protecting women against online harassment. For the first episode of Samavāya, she joins Savera Weerasinghe as they discuss the challenges faced by women in a patriarchal society, navigating the prejudices in office spaces, courts, and even at homes. 

Nighat Dad runs the Digital Rights Foundation in Lahore, Pakistan, which is a non-profit, research-based advocacy organization focused on cyber harassment, data protection and free speech online in Pakistan and South Asia. 

The purpose of Facebook’s Oversight Board, an independent board of people with diverse backgrounds from around the world (of which Nighat is a member) is to promote free expression by making principled, independent decisions regarding content on Facebook and Instagram and by issuing recommendations on the relevant Facebook Company Content Policy. 

Reporters Without Borders’ Information and Democracy Commission aims at bringing guarantees for the freedom of opinion and expression in the global space of information and communication.

The controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA) was instated to regulate cyberspace in Pakistan, which includes protection of women against online harassment, but has been opposed by digital rights activists and civil society organisations for curtailing freedom of expression and clamping down on dissent.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that provides communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. 

Feminist activists in Pakistan that have inspired Nighat - Hina Jilani is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a human-rights activist from Lahore; Asma Jahangir was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; and Nighat Said Khan is a Pakistani feminist activist, researcher, author, director and founder of the Applied Socio-Economic Research Resource Centre and a founding member of the Women's Action Forum. 

Know more about Digital Rights Foundation & Nighat Dad

This podcast is hosted by Savera Weerasinghe 

Editing and engineering: Nakul Agarwal 

Intro & Outro Music: Sirfula Siraima by Nepathya

Interlude Music: Yani Maya by Nepathya 

Know more about Nepathya 

Samavāya is produced by Asia Society New York and Asia Society India Centre.

Anurupa Roy has been fascinated by Puppets since she was a young child, but she found a way to use puppets to address and discuss issues that affect the lives of adults. In the second episode of Samavāya, Anurupa talks to Savera Weerasinghe on how puppet theatre has become a mode of communicating with adults in South Asia, particularly on topics that are considered taboo in South Asian culture.

Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust is a traveling puppet theatre company based in New Delhi, India, that focuses on presenting visual narratives with objects and puppets at venues and festivals across India and the world. 

Katkatha on Google Arts and Culture. 

Katkatha’s community and peace-building projects involved taboo or sensitive topics like gender and sexuality, regional trauma and conflict, climate change, and more. For example: Community Health Project (2005-07), in collaboration with World Bank, CHEALSEA and Make Arts/Stop AIDS), was an HIV/AIDS awareness program that ran for over 8 years and spanned 5 states of India included the play Virus ka tamasha that performed over 150 shows. 

The Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+) aims to improve the treatment and facilities for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV). 

Supported by WISCOMP, KASHMIR PROJECT (2006) took place in the village of Beejbehara, near Srinagar, Kashmir, where 25 young women aged of 18-25 worked with team Katkatha using masks and puppets. 

Early influences on Anurupa’s practice: Varun Narain, a Delhi-based puppeteer who believes in blurring boundaries and uses puppetry as a tool to raise issues about stereotypes and prejudices; and Ranjana Pandey, a puppeteer, playwright, theatre and television director, and educator. . 

Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed across the world today. 

Chhau is a folk performance form that incorporates martial arts and dance-drama elements, performed in the states of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal in India. 

Follow Anurupa Roy on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Follow Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

This podcast is hosted by Savera Weerasinghe 

Editing and engineering: Nakul Agarwal 

Intro & Outro Music: Sirfula Siraima by Nepathya 

Interlude Music: Siran Ma Photo Chha by Nepathya 

Know more about Nepathya 

Samavāya is produced by Asia Society New York and Asia Society India Centre.

Hosted by Asia 21 Leader Savera Weerasinghe (Sri Lanka), the first season features Nighat Dad (Pakistan), Anurupa Roy (India), Indira Ranamagar (Nepal), Namgay Zam (Bhutan), and Omaid Sharifi (Afghanistan). The conversations give us an insight into the lives of these amazing Asia 21 Leaders, as Savera talked about their childhoods, the people and places that have influenced them the most, the challenges they have faced in becoming the leaders they are today, the power of communities and community-building, and what they think should be the future for South Asia.

We would like to extend a special thanks to Yusra Askari (Asia 21 Class of 2014), and Sanjeev Sherchan (Executive Director, Global Initiatives, Asia Society) for being the guiding beacon for the first season of Samavāya.

Produced by Asia Society India Centre and Asia Society New York

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Who are Asia 21 Young Leaders? Know more about the Young Leaders from South Asia and Globally.