Join us for a reflective December 💗
See what we got up to in November and join us for some love as the year ends!
Access an audio version of this newsletter here.
Dear friends,
The year is slowly coming to a close, and what a year it has been! To be honest, we are feeling exhausted and spent but we have also been nourished by and grateful for community. We hope this year has allowed you to find parts of your self that you needed, connect with community and discover what matters to you. We wish you a gentle start to 2022.
Read on to find updates on our work including what we’ve been doing behind the scenes building our new strategy and highlights from our workshop with wonderful somatic practitioner Meenadchi. We also hope to see you at our holiday community gathering this week and one final workshop to set some intentions together.
As we do every year, our whole team will be going on a short break for some weeks starting 23 December and we will be back in the new year. We will be using this time to recoup and reflect on all the things we have achieved this year, and all the exciting projects we will share with you all in January. We’ll be less active on our social media but if you really want to get in touch, you can drop us an email and someone will respond when they can.
In solidarity,
The Rights Collective 🌻
🔮 Shape the future of The Rights Collective!
We’re looking for members of our community, funders, partners and friends to help shape the future of the collective.
In 2021, we spent over six months reflecting on our work over the past few years and ideating together about many things: who we are, what we value, the future we envision and how we can create it, our role as a collective and so much more!
It was a genuinely joyful, challenging and iterative process and, through it, we came up with some beautiful ideas. Now we need your inputs!
As we get ready to share more about our ideas with you all in January, we’d like to invite you, as values members of our wider community, to get involved.
Consider this your invite to share feedback, test what we’ve come up with, tell us what you and your community need and let us know what we’ve missed. In 2022, we’ll be hosting a series of participatory focus groups. Join us to shape how the collective should move into the future by registering your interest to attend below.
As the year comes to an end, we’d love to see some of you at our meet up in London this week! 2021 continues to transform our lives. We hope to be in community & solidarity as the year ends. Join us for some good chat and connection!
We’re meeting on Friday 10th December in central London - sign up for details at the link below. We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please email Habiba.
🇦🇫 Join us for a conversation on amplifying Afghan voices
Join us on 13th December on IG live for a conversation about the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan and across the diaspora, including a discussion of the historical political context, calls to action and ways to nurture mental health in the midst of uncertain social and political landscapes. Our speakers include Mona Fakhry, Armeghan Taheri, and Pari Ludin.
تحریر // Tehreer Book 💫
Our first ever تحریر // Tehreer 2021 writing programme has now come to an end. Tehreer’s vision is to build a community of writers who can write thoughtfully and in a nuanced way about issues that impact the South Asian diaspora with an anti-oppression lens. We had a celebration event last month showcasing the participants work on the theme of ‘roots, journeys and belongings’.
To celebrate the beautiful work of our 2021 cohort, we compiled their writings into this incredible book. Click the image to download for free and have a read!
🌻Workshop: Stuck-ness as a Sign of Release
Last month were joined by somatic practitioner Meenadchi at The Maya Centre in North London for our “Stuck-ness as a Sign of Release” workshop.
As a group, we explored stuck-ness, release, trauma and familial dynamics through journaling, movement, and family constellation therapy. We were left feeling immensely warm, grateful and loving for the space we created together. For more information on Meenadchi’s work, visit: traumainformednvc[dot]com - they are currently holding online workshops!
You can see more behind the scenes videos and photos over on our Instagram!
🚨 Urgent Mutual Aid Request
Mutual aid is the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world. - Dean Spade
A London based community member is in financial distress. A few months ago, Aziza* was sexually assaulted in London, which hindered her ability to study, work and complete day-to-day tasks. She has since been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and panic attacks.
We believe it is our duty to materially support the communities and individuals we advocate for in our work, especially in the face of state, structural and institutional violence and neglect.
*Name changed for privacy.
Anti-Caste Reading Circle: Resources
Earlier this year we hosted an anti-caste reading circle, facilitated by Jyotsna Siddharth and Varun Khanna, with 30 participants attending discussions over the course of six months. We covered topics such as caste and love, food, race, privilege and entertainment. To find out what we read and access our materials, click here.
At the end of the six months, participants voted to continue their learning independently requesting that we share resources on a regular basis. So this is our new regular section where we will share anti-caste resources with you every month - from readings to videos to events. Feel free to send us anything to feature and check out some of this month’s readings below.
📚 We’re currently reading..
The Azeem Rafiq case has shown us that institutional racism exists in Britain. Dr. Fatima Rajina explores how the face of anti-South Asian racism is changing in the UK. Read now.
As part of the ongoing 16 Days of Activism Campaign to end Violence against Women and Girls, Sikh Women’s Aid have launched a devastating report looking at the effects of domestic abuse and child sexual abuse in the Sikh community.
“What does it mean when we have a societal arrangement where the most vulnerable in society become more vulnerable by their proximity to the state?” - Gestures Towards The Frontiers of The Human Spirit by Farzana Khan is a must read.
Palestine and Kashmir are the last two decolonial struggles left in our lifetimes, it’s time we connect up liberation movements and internationalise our solidarity. Read Globalising the intifada by our team members Habiba and Inaya.
The power of community-led activism and self-organising in fighting injustice is highlighted by anti-racist campaigner Anwar Ditta who passed away last month. Read Remembering Anwar Ditta on Tribune Mag here.
💭 Have you checked out our resource hub yet? We’ve compiled articles, podcasts, and videos to expand and aid existing knowledge on issues including caste, class, and race.
🖊 We’re accepting blog pitches!
The Rights Collective blog not only seeks to amplify the lived experiences within our communities, but also to invite dialogue, critical thinking and introspection. We invite writers to explore issues through personal essays, socio-political analysis, thought pieces, and more.
We can pay a stipend to anyone whose pitches are accepted and published! If you have any questions, you can email our blog editor Tasha.
Support Us
Most of our spaces, workshops and events are free but if you feel called to contribute to the community and invest in sustaining our work, please donate here.