South Asian young women’s bodies and hearts are often the battleground of patriarchs, media and governments. Tired of our voices being left out of the dialogue about violence in our lives, eight young South Asian women in Toronto came together to challenge how “izzat” or “honour” has been used to rationalize violence against us.

Together, we created a play, short films and a graphic novella illustrated by artists Somya Singh and Selena Wong. Our book and play, Heartbeats, launched in December 2012 at the Art Gallery of Ontario as a love letter to our communities.  The book has sold over 8,000 copies, and our team toured across North America, launching the book in 10 cities. An award-winning documentary about the IZZAT Project, Listen to Me, was created in 2015 by Lalita Krishna, InSync Media.