February 7th, 2021, Dubai (UAE): Ananke, a digital platform, empowering women through awareness, advocacy and education, has announced the Women in Literature Festival 2021, planned to be held in the month of March.
The Festival is a celebration of the literary genius, creative journeys and lived artistic experiences of the female gender. Marking Women’s History Month and Women’s Day, the 3-day event will take place on (March 30-April 1) as to also observe World Book and Copyright Day.
The event aims to look at literature from a gender perspective, the impact and role of translations that expand the scope, as well as reach audience and readership. From Dostoevsky to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, readers have enjoyed many adventures. And while they are able to relish the sublime through immense efforts in translations that preserve authors’ authenticity, the role of translators, particularly female translators remain largely unacknowledged, long forgotten and even unrecognized.
In this new world, there is a greater need to emphasize the role women have played in the field of the arts and literature specifically. Whether it is Simone De Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Ismat Chughtai, Meera Syal, Nawal El Sadawi, Arundhati Roy and countless other female authors, the impact of female writers cannot be ignored.
Through this festival, Ananke strives to not just celebrate creativity of female fiction and non-fiction writers, but to highlight female literary history and showcase – many a times – invisibilized women writers in cultural festival line-ups. The Women in Literature Festival plans to create conversations about how literature produced by women needs to be highlighted, promoted and celebrated globally via translations, digital documentation and more.
Talking about the event, Ananke’s Founder and Executive Editor, Sabin Muzaffar said: “I really do think we need a continuous, inclusive and diversity-focused conversation about literature especially during these trying times of the Pandemic. This can perhaps instill humanism in all of us, which is under threat and being eroded on a daily basis. And by the pandemic, I am not just referring to COVID19, but also the pandemic of hatred, discrimination and racism against those who do not look like us.”
With the goal to strengthen women’s creative voices, the event plans to encourage women and girls to engage, network and avail all learning opportunities presented throughout the festival. Featuring an array of panel discussions, readings, workshops and mentoring sessions and a lot more, women and girls – from aspiring to professional writers, will have an opportunity to interact and participate in enlightening discussions.
Commenting about the festival, founder Zuka Books and author of Pakistan: A Fashionable History, Mehr F Husain said: “This is a new world and old structures and systems must end. Ananke proves to be an organisation dedicated to a gender equal world with the world’s first all-female literary festival with the boldest and bravest female voices. It is a tremendous honour to be a part of it. Let this herald in a new dawn when females are given their due respect in field of the written word.”
Confirmed speakers include eminent names such as pioneer of second wave feminism, Phyllis Chesler, Resident Director Aurat Foundation Pakistan Mahnaz Rehman, inspirational academicians writers and award winning authors: Aekta Kapoor, Radhika Tabrez, Piyusha Vir, Karen Osman, Mehr F Husain, Deepti Menon, Laaleen Sukhera, Nida Usman Chaudhary, Anupama Jain, Lakshana Palat, Mini Shivakumar Menon, Saba Karim Khan, Rashin Choudhry, Dina BenBrahim, Maha Tazi, Ana Serrano Telleria, Amrita Mukherjee, Sutapa Basu, Mandy Sanghera, Farah Kaleem and many more.
Partnering with leading authors, literary & feminist entities and publishers including Zuka Books, Readomania, Seagull Books, the Gender Security Project, Authors Alliance, Ananke hopes to set a new standard in literary festivals where there is greater visibility of female literati.
To register, click on this link – FORM
Event Hashtag: #WLF2021 #WomeninLitFest
About Ananke:
Ananke is a non-profit, digital platform empowering through awareness, advocacy and education. Launched in 2014 in Dubai UAE, the organization strives to trigger conversations on inclusion, gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the digital realm. Breaking barriers to empower women, the organization is a World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) nominee for 2019 and 2020. Recently, Ananke hosted the first ever digital Girl Summit across the MENA and Subcontinent regions with attendees from all over the world. For more information, visit: https://www.anankemag.com
Ananke also publishes special editions on the ISSUU platform and can be viewed here.
To check out videos of Ananke’s previous our YouTube or Vimeo channels.
Contact: Media@anankemag.com
Social: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram: @Anankemag
