How these South Asian women are finding their voice through podcasting

During the height of the COVID-19pandemic, Sharon Sehraisought outstories of fellow South Asian queer women in British Columbia.

The search didn't produce much hope.

That's whenSehrai took matters into her own hands and createda podcast that shinesa light on the lives of B.C.'squeer South Asian women.

"Iwanted to create a space where queer folks didn't have to search the web tirelessly to be like, 'Oh, there'sLilly Singh, or Jameela Jamil.' These folks are great and they're visible, but they're out of reach," said Sehrai.

Sehrai co-hosts theSher Vancouver Podcast, which tells thestories of men, women and non-binary members of the local LGBTQ+ community.

WATCH | Sharon Sehrai joins other podcasters to discuss breaking down barriers in media:

South Asian women use podcasting to break down barriers in media

1 year ago

Duration 16:32

A trio of B.C.-based podcasters share how they are finding audiences who connect with their stories.

Sehrai is one of many South Asian women who are using podcasts as a platformto have their voices highlighted.

Media still dominated by men, says professor

Tarannum Thind'scareer has spannedmultiplelocal TV shows and radio stations.Now she hasher own podcast, called Chai with T. She says podcasting has allowed her to have deeper conversations.

"Traditional media has its own rules and regulations that you're meant to follow, especially ethnic media," said Thind. "There's a lot of things that we can't openly talk about ... because of fear, because of controversy, because of sensationalism."

Satwinder Bains,an associate professor in the School of Culture, Media and Society at the University of theFraser Valley, agrees with Thindabout the limitations faced by those working at South Asian media outlets.

While these outlets are trying to diversify their content, Bains says there still are limitations as the majority of South Asian media aredominated by men.

"A lot of the media is owned by men and men continue to make the decisions, sodiversitywhile it's being accepted as a normal circumstance for our lives in Canada today, we talk about it regularly but structurally the foundations continue to be the same," said Bains.

While there are somewomenleading South Asian media outlets, Bains says that does not change how the wider system operates.

Storytelling through spoken word

Milan Singh, a researcher and one of the co-hosts behind the Nameless Collective Podcast, whichdelves into the historyof B.C.'s South Asian settlers, says podcasts allowfor longform storytelling that is similar to traditional South Asian ways to tell a tale or pass on history.

"There's something about [podcasts] being almost like storytelling oral tradition 2.0 ... and to me, this is just adigital extension of some of that," said Singh.

Alysha Bains, a PhDcandidateat Simon Fraser University's School of Communication focusing onSouth Asian creative networks in Canada, agrees with Singh.

"In so many of our diverse South Asian cultures, storytelling through creative expression has always been a way that we have lived, how we have thrived, how we have shared knowledge.I do feel like there's an alignment there withthe form of podcast."