Brown Girl Magazine

For many South Asians, a child’s queerness invariably becomes a family identity. Navigating the complexities of a family can be contentious — and few know that better than Aruna Rao, Founder of Desi Rainbow Parents & Allies. Rao’s desire to create a community for parents of queer, desi children was …

Journalism is revered for its claim of being the “people’s advocate.” As journalists, we go after the truth, investigate wrongdoings, hold our leaders accountable, ask the tough questions on everyone’s mind and do our best to shed light on our fellow citizens’ stories. Yet, when you sit down to turn …

Brown is beautiful. It took a while for this popular adage to latch on to someone like me who had been completely brainwashed by absurd advertisements of Fair and Lovely. As a brown person, my childhood memories, on the one hand, are laced with carefree days and on the other, …

"When exploring the vast differences between generations across the immigrant experience, one of the largest ties back to this idea..."

It is a tradition in Asian families that after marriage, the bride goes to live with her husband and in-laws. This can include grandparents, parents, siblings and their children all living under one roof. A Japanese study found that women living with an extended family have higher risks of heart …

On Election Day in November, we witnessed the Republicans keep a stronghold on the Senate and the Democrats take over the House. Many South Asians, Arabs and women ascended to office and we witnessed many “firsts.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest person elected to Congress. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib …

After years of discrimination, murders, and attacks on Sikhs, United Sikhs, a U.N. affiliated organization has asked the Department of Education to consider Sikhs as an ethnic group. At first, this seemed wrong to me. Conflating my religion with ethnicity would seem to alienate converts from different racial backgrounds. The …

"One movie cannot and will not be the saving grace for all issues with representation in the industry – but it can be the first step if we allow it to be."

The long-lasting treacherous and heart-wrenching effects of the India and Pakistan partition are embedded in the hearts of South Asians everywhere. Whether it was our grandparents or great-grandparents caught in the midst of British colonial sanctioned segregation, the violent legacy of 1947 and beyond comes with trauma, hegemonic nationalism, hatred, …

ISLAMABAD — In the latest of mob attacks on minority Muslim sects in Pakistan, Sunni extremists demolished a historic mosque belonging to Ahmadis in the city of Sialkot. The plan was orchestrated by Hafiz Hamid Raza, a member of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Inshaf, during the night and early morning. No worshippers appeared …

ISLAMABAD — In the latest of mob attacks on minority Muslim sects in Pakistan, Sunni extremists demolished a historic mosque belonging to Ahmadis in the city of Sialkot. The plan was orchestrated by Hafiz Hamid Raza, a member of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Inshaf, during the night and early morning. No worshippers appeared …

Dim lights, candlelit tables, and an endless supply of coffee. Hafsa Khan, the staff assistant in the U.S. Senate office in Columbus, Ohio, and her team had outdone themselves with the planning of the Third Annual Ohio Women’s Leadership Summit. I settled into my seat at a table at the …

Conservatives welcomed a policy that prevents U.S. foreign aid from aiding nongovernmental organizations (NGO) that administer abortion services, distribute contraception or even advise patients on family planning. Trump has previously stated that he will appoint Supreme Court justices in favor of overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, potentially making …

TW/ ra*e The following letter is written in response to former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner’s intent to commit rape of an intoxicated/unconscious person in January 2015. The controversy around this case has led to widespread outrage over California Judge Aaron Persky’s decision to give Turner a six-month jail sentence …

The following piece is a part of the “Act to Change” initiative, a public awareness campaign working to address bullying, specifically in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The campaign website, ActToChange.org, and its social media tag #ActToChange provide AAPI youth and community members with platforms to share …