We want South Asian women to feel empowered to be their whole selves

We knew we wanted to create spaces for women like us to discuss issues that we couldn't talk about with family, social circles or in the workplace – but we didn’t have opportunities to do so.
Sheetal Mistry and Shirin Shah
Our co-founders created South Asian Sisters Speak (SASS) in 2016, after being introduced through their blogs on the nuances of being South Asian women in the UK. They wanted to create spaces for women like us to discuss issues that we couldn’t talk about with family, social circles or in the workplace – but didn’t have opportunities to do so.
 
Without really knowing how, but with a lot of determination to provide spaces for those conversations, SASS was created!
 
We hosted our first panel event in London in April 2017 (which to our surprise sold out), and launched the Brown Girls’ Book Club in 2018. Since then, we’ve built an incredible team and community through our events and across our social media platforms. There are now five of us who are all committed to bringing South Asian women from all backgrounds and lived experiences together to find that thing we’d been looking for for so long.
 
CURRENT TEAM
Shirin Shah – Co-founder
Maryam Siddiqui – Events Lead
Yasmin Rai – Events Coordinator
Apoorva Sriram – Digital Engagement Lead
Anjum Rahman – Book Club Lead
 
With gratitude to our former team members:
Sheetal Mistry – Co-founder
Henna Amin – Content Lead
 
With thanks to our funders over the years:
O2 Think Big Fund
Edge Fund
Utopia

Our values

Caring

In an individualistic world, caring for ourselves and each other is a radical act, so we fill our spaces with love and empathy. We want South Asian women to know they are loved and wholly accepted as they are.

Full of integrity

We only work on projects that directly relate to our mission and values, and benefit and uplift South Asian women. Community before clout, always.

Inclusive

We know that ‘South Asian’ is a huge umbrella term, and we want to celebrate the diversity across the diaspora, and make our spaces available for all who need them.

Disruptive

We’re constantly being told what South Asian women are ‘supposed’ to be like, but we’re here to disrupt these reductive narratives and define our own.

Empowering

We want South Asian women to feel seen, confident, and free in our spaces - free to be their authentic selves and share their own unique voices.

Constantly evolving

We are committed to learning and growing alongside our community and aren’t afraid to make changes if needed.

We’d love to see you at an event – head to our events page below to see what’s on.

Book your spot