18th July to 17th August marks South Asian heritage month, a time to celebrate, commemorate and learn about the stories and achievements of those from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

As a South Asian woman, whose parents were born in India, I experienced what many people from ethnic minorities experience, in that growing up I didn’t see much representation of brown women, from positions of leadership, or even in my favourite TV shows. It’s now been proven that positive media representation can be helpful in increasing self-esteem for people of marginalised groups, but more than that, I often felt that certain professions and dreams of mine would never be realised because people that looked like me just ‘didn’t do those things.’

Fortunately, a combination of being allowed to explore my aspirations and the changing tides when it comes to representation means that I have been able to achieve many things that I previously thought impossible. A big part of being able to do so was seeing other South Asian women achieve amazing feats and be recognised for it! So, my celebration for South Asian Heritage month is to share with you some of the South Asian women who have inspired me personally, and who you should definitely be paying attention to!

Shani Dhanda

Entrepreneur, disability specialist and speaker Shani has many strings to her bow. As a keynote speaker and practitioner for inclusion across business, government, non-profit and wider society, Shani helps organisations break barriers and integrate inclusion into their business frameworks. If all that wasn’t enough, she also founded Asian Woman Festival, an event and platform for women of South Asian heritage to come together and learn from one another. She was also the winner of our Brightlist Inclusion Advocate award earlier this year.

@shanidhanda

Malala Yousafzai

After publicly speaking on behalf of girls and their right to learn, Malala became a target and was shot for her beliefs. Since then, she established the Malala Fund, a charity dedicated to giving every girl an opportunity to achieve a future she chooses. In recognition of her work, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014 and became the youngest-ever Nobel laureate.

To add to all that, she also has a brilliant social media presence, encapsulated by her recent ‘​​This Barbie has a Nobel Prize 💖 He’s just Ken’ post.

@malala

Dr Nighat Arif

Dr Nighat is a GP specialising in women’s health and family planning with over 15 years of experience in the NHS and private practice. Dr Nighat has worked to raise awareness on menopause and women's healthcare in Black and Asian women and she presented her clinical work at the ‘Menopause in the Workplace’ Parliamentary committee hearing. She is also the resident doctor on BBC Breakfast, ITV’S This Morning and BBC LookEast, and she hosts her own Sunday Breakfast show on BBC3 Counties Radio. She also uses her social media presence to educate people on issues surrounding women's health.

@drnighatarif

Reshma Saujani

Reshma is a leading activist and the founder of Girls Who Code. She has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women and girls’ economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector, and most recently advocating for policies to support moms impacted by the pandemic. Reshma is also the author of the international bestseller Brave, Not Perfect and her new book Pay Up confronts the “big lie” of corporate feminism and presents a bold plan to address the burnout and inequity harming America’s working women today.

@reshmasaujani

Jaspreet Kaur

Known as Behind the Netra for her poetry, Jaspreet is a spoken word artist, writer and teacher. She is committed to using writing and spoken word to tackle gender discrimination, mental health stigma, the postcolonial immigrant experience, and taboo issues within the South Asian community. Her book Brown Girl Like Me delves into some of the most complex conversations brown women are tackling today. With expert, accessible explorations of topics from beauty standards to family and education, this book is essential reading for anyone wanting to build a fuller picture of women’s lives in Britain today across a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives.

@behindthenetra