“We are the ones we have been waiting for.” —June Jordan
Images by Kinza Iftikhar. New York City, July 2021Kamli started in 2021, when...
. . . a small group of NYC-based Pakistani women organized a vigil-protest outside Manhattan’s Pakistani Consulate in July 2021 after Noor Mukadam’s murder.
Close to 300 New Yorkers showed up, and as woman after woman stood on the consulate’s steps to share her story, we found power and freedom in breaking our silences and expressing our rage. In the months that followed, a sisterhood emerged that brought us joy and love.
It is important for protests to have consequences. Resistance needs continuity and a platform, and there are no quick victories in the fight against oppression.
Kamli is about growing the spark and sisterhood we saw a glimpse of in July 2021. It is a space to gather in solidarity and courage. It is a platform to amplify our voices, and organize our rebellion into a powerful resistance whose ripples of change are felt far and wide.
It is a brick in the wall as we build a new world that is a feminist’s dream.
We are based in New York City.
Kamli’s in-person events take place at various locations in New York City. In the future, we plan to open our own physical space — the Kamli Café & Bookstore — as a hub for community, events and organizing.
NYC is Kamli’s birthplace. Like this city, we contain multitudes. We move between identities, cultures and countries. Kamli is a space for us to proudly own all our identities as Pakistani-Americans, and to rise above tribalism.
We feel a deep, lasting connection to Pakistan—where most of us grew up—and align our activities and organizing with issues that impact Pakistanis. We engage meaningfully with, and carry forth lessons from Pakistan’s vibrant, growing feminist movement.
Our Values
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Kamli is an inclusive and supportive community for all who share our dream of a world free of gender-based oppression. We are invested in building safe spaces for people of all gender identities and sexual orientations in the Pakistani and South Asian diaspora.
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Through our events, storytelling and art, we push the boundaries on cultural and religious dogmas that disadvantage women and minorities. It is we who make culture and we who have the power to challenge, defy and change culture.
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We use creative means — art, music, film, literature — to express and resist, with a focus on the work of Pakistani and South Asian creators. We are interested in showcasing our culture and history with a feminist lens.
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We are learners, readers, writers and scholars. We learn about feminist histories and issues, with a focus on the scholarship of Pakistani feminist authors. We reclaim and decolonize our history through the bodies of work built by South Asian historians.
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Our vision is to build power and circles of influence for our resistance, through all available means, including political, economic and cultural.