Naaz’s Learnings and Emerging Themes
HIMMAT MEDIA interviewed Naaz about her project this time. Learn more about her thought process behind the project, her whys, any emerging themes, and critical learnings throughout this undertaking
Thanks for trusting us with your project, Naaz! ❤️
– Juggi (Juggy)
What are some things you learned as the person doing these interviews?
One thing I learned was the power of listening. South Asian women are often silenced by our community and the rest of the world. So being able to just sit and listen not only empowered the women but allowed me to better understand their story. I think it was also important to have a South Asian interviewer who could understand the struggle. We were able to connect better and be more vulnerable with each other because we could empathize with one another’s experiences. Through this process, I learned that I am able to create a safe space where people feel welcomed enough to open up. I learned that I am able to ask questions that are not judgemental in nature. Having these conversations is important to me and cemented the fact that I am on the right path to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice. Himmat Media helped support me in amplifying the voices of these beautiful, brilliant South Asian women and for that, I will always be grateful.
How were they different from your expectations?
I thought being a South Asian woman well-versed in Punjabi would serve me well in the interviewing process. However, I found it difficult to translate English words such as racism or sexism (Fun fact there is actually no word for sexism in Punjabi). Another unexpected portion of the project was the strong influence of internalized racism. The main reason I chose to do this project was that when I moved to Kelowna, and more so when I moved to Vernon, I experienced the most racism I have experienced thus far in my life. So I thought other South Asian women must have been feeling the same way but turns out I wasn’t entirely correct. People in the interview like Sahiti, Jasmine, and Asia were able to highlight their experiences living in a smaller town versus a large city but I wish I had interviewed more South Asian women from various parts of Canada. The initial focus was externalized racism but themes such as brown-on-brown hate and internalized racism emerged from our conversations. What is interesting though is those who live in the larger cities spoke more about the internalized oppression, the brown-on-brown hate, the cultural and religious influences on sexism, etc. Those who live in small towns, like Asia, were able to better speak on the externalized racism that South Asian women experience. It would be interesting to research the correlation between the racism experienced in large cities versus smaller towns. So I think in the future if I was to redo this project I would consider the geographical location of the people I interview.
How were they similar?
To be able to witness the bond between the grandmothers, mothers, and daughters in our conversations was an honor. So many of the conversations ended with the women complementing one another and building up each other’s confidence. Yes, this was a conversation about racism and sexism but what came out of it was love and admiration for one another. That is what Chaa da Cup is all about. It's about being able to have vulnerable conversations with the ones you love while sipping on a warm cup of tea. It's about sharing and magnifying the struggles that South Asian women have to face. Above all, it's about connection and I hope we were able to achieve that in our time together.
What was a memory that stood out to you?
A memory that stood out to me was during my interview with Juggi and mussi. Near the end of our conversation, mussi started to talk about the mistakes she feels she made raising her daughters and what she wishes she could do differently. Hearing that broke my heart because I know Juggi and Rav very well and let me tell you these two women are one of the most badass women I know. What immediately followed was 15-20 minutes of Juggi and I talking about all the beautiful characteristics mussi has passed on to her children. I saw this again in the interview with Jasmine, her mom, and nani (grandmother). Harjit auntie-ji and Jasmine proudly talked about Jasmine’s grandfather who was a force to be reckoned with. Jasmine also acknowledged the positive attributes her mom and nani-ji passed down to her. In my interview with my own mom, I heard it yet again. Mom talked about how she wished she raised stronger girls but I don’t think she realized that we grew up witnessing her strength each and every day and that strength got instilled in us as well. I think often what happens with South Asian women is they don’t get the credit for raising the strong, beautiful children they do. It was an unexpected but welcomed part of the project.
What is a learning that stood out to you?
A learning that stood out to me was the importance of geographic location. Living in cities like Surrey and Brampton you are surrounded by people that look like you, speak like you, act like you, dance like you, and so forth. But when you move to a small town like Vernon you are the outcast, the outsider, the one that doesn’t belong. It demonstrated the importance of representation. Diversity is the first step to not just tolerance but true acceptance and inclusion. Through growing contact with, exposure to, and communicating with people that may not look or act like you teaches us how to relate in different ways, diminishing discrimination. That may be why we see more racism in smaller, secluded towns where there isn’t much diversity. Don’t get me wrong though too much of something isn’t always a good thing either. As Juggi highlighted, being constantly surrounded by South Asian people can also have a negative impact. Being in a predominantly South Asian community means you are also not exposed to various cultures and are more vulnerable to negative cultural and religious influences like sexism. So there’s good and bad in both but overall I think in order to better address racism we need to create more exposure to diversity. Only then can we work towards diminishing racism and being the cultural mosaic Canada portrays itself to be.
How do you plan on implementing that learning into your real life/practice?
As an aspiring social worker, I think this project has implications for research and practice. In some of our SOCW 514 lectures, we discussed creative research studies similar to this one. This project aligns with social work values and the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) Code of Ethics. It highlights the experiences that many marginalized and vulnerable populations have to navigate through. Not only does it highlight the discrepancies and systems of oppression at play, but it also highlights what can be done to fight against it. The project talks about what it means to be an ally for the South Asian community, where one can go learn more about South Asian culture, how we can address racism on an individual level, and so forth. Social workers need to be trained in cultural competency, and antiracist and anti-oppressive practice at both individual and organizational levels (George & Ramkissoon, 1998). It involves a creative blend of social work values, self-awareness, the impact of systems of oppression on clients, and the mastery of techniques. Projects like this one help social workers better grasp the impact of ethnic realities on clients and how best to support them. I think this project could be expanded well beyond South Asian women. Let’s talk to South Asian men, other IBPOC individuals, IBPOC 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, immigrants, refugees, etc. Research doesn’t have to be clinical all the time and I think that was my biggest takeaway. Research doesn’t have to involve scientific methods and data correlation and alpha this and beta that (can you tell I am not in the research field?). Why are we not going directly to the source? Why are we not listening to the people that these systems are directly impacting?
