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PODCAST

Main Bhi Muslim

Main Bhi Muslim™

"Main Bhi Muslim" the podcast is a conversational space for individuality and diversity within the context of being an Indian, a Muslim and everything in between. www.mainbhimuslim.com

society & culture personal journals

All Episodes

73:26

EP38 - Discussing caste-consciousness & inner lives...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2026/02/01

This MBM conversation is with Aiman Haque, a Delhi based researcher and writer. Through her years of growing up, working and having family across different parts of the country, Aiman shares how language, caste, history and local cultures have shaped her sense of identity and belonging. We discuss how caste manifests within Muslim communities, especially during arranged marriage discussions or in the choice of words used to address certain sections of the community.We also discuss the value of

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76:44

EP37 - Examining Muslim representation in...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2025/10/26

This MBM conversation is with Nadira Khatun, author of the book ‘Postcolonial Bollywood and Muslim Identity: Production, Representation, and Reception’. Through this book, Nadira traces the representation of Muslim characters within Hindi cinema in post-partition India, and how the socio-political and economic factors have contributed to varied representations across decades.We discuss the influence of Bollywood on our own personal upbringings, how cinematic representations contributed to the

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72:54

EP36 - Nurturing a resilient future through faith,...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2025/09/14

This MBM conversation with Zara Chowdhary, author of the memoir The Lucky Ones - a survivor’s account of the 2002 Gujarat Pogrom. The book is a deeply personal story of Zara and her family whose roots and history are entwined within the soil and soul of the Indian subcontinent, but also the trauma that speaks through the family, especially the women across generations.Zara’s writing is intimate, visceral and soul-stirring, with each page offering truth and dignity to every relationship she writes

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75:19

EP35 - Making libraries & learning centres a reality...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2025/08/17

This MBM conversation is with Shabnam Nafisa Kalim, a resident of Mustafabad - a predominantly Muslim suburban area in North-east Delhi, where she and her team of volunteers run two libraries to create a learning and educational space for their community. Mashaal Library and Amma’s Library have over the years become spaces of educational resources to prepare Mustafabad’s youngsters for competitive examinations, and support the local community through adult literacy, career counselling and mental

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70:32

EP34 - Decoding identity, friendships and freedoms in...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2025/07/20

This MBM conversation is with Nausheen Khan, an independent film-maker based in India, whose documentary Land of My Dreams is a retracing of her journey as an Indian Muslim woman as she covered the Shaheen Bagh protests in 2019-2020.In this conversation, Nausheen shares her introspection around her identity growing up, the effect of stereotypes on her, and reclaiming her Muslimness in more ways than one. We discuss the myriad forms in which being a woman in the present times challenges us to show up

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52:11

EP33 - The Life of a Kaamdani Artisan

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2025/05/01

This MBM conversation is with Shabana Bano, a Lucknow-based kaamdani artisan. Kaamdani or Mukaish as its popularly known, is intricate metal-work embroidery which requires skill, talent, time and patience to stitch patterns and designs onto fabric. For more than 15 years, Shabana ji has been making her living through this craft, has trained and supported countless women and currently has a team of 50 women artisans who work with her.In this episode, Shabana ji shares her experience learning and

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80:05

EP32 - The roles of AMU and Jamia Millia Islamia in...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2024/09/07

Can a Muslim university be an Indian university? These are the first words in Dr Laurence Gautier’s book Between Nation and ‘Community’ - Muslim Universities & Indian Politics after Partition, in which she explores the history, nature and contribution of India’s leading Muslim universities - Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI), two institutions which in her words acted, “as crucibles for competing conceptions of ‘Indian Muslimness’ in post-independence India.” This MBM

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78:56

EP31 - Writing about family histories and stories...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2024/07/13

This MBM conversation is with Nusrat Jafri, author of the memoir ‘This Land We Call Home’. In this book, Nusrat traces her maternal history going back to her great grand-father, who was originally part of the Bhantu tribe, and later adopted Christianity as a way to overcome the ostracisation imposed upon him and his family for belonging to what the British deemed as ‘criminal tribes’. Nusrat’s book offers a window into the lives and choices of her grand aunts, who with the help of Christian

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115:34

EP30 - 20th cent Hyderabadi Urdu women writers...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2024/06/16

This conversation is with Nazia Akhtar, Assistant Professor at the Human Sciences Research Centre, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad and the author of Bibi’s Room: Hyderabadi Women and Twentieth-Century Urdu Prose, in which she has profiled three prolific Hyderabadi Urdu writers, namely Zeenath Sajida, Najma Nikhat and Jeelani Bano. We discuss some of the most influential and invigorating writings by these women, notably stories like Sajida’s ‘If Allah Miyan Were A Woman’,

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51:39

[Election Special] Baatein beyond the ballot

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2024/04/14

What does it mean to be a Muslim woman from Bundelkhand living through its socio-economic and political realities? What are their aspirations and expectations from the upcoming elections? How do they imagine their futures as citizens of this country?These are some questions that Main Bhi Muslim and Khabar Lahariya follow in this episode, speaking to Muslim women voters across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh - mainly in Jhansi, Banda, Chitrakoot, Panna, and Ayodhya to listen to their aspirations,

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62:43

EP28 - Claiming one's voice and space at IIT and beyond

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2024/03/24

In this episode, MBM’s host Mariyam Haider is in conversation with Risana Rasheed from Kasargod, Kerala, who along with her twin sister, Ramseena, became the first women in their community to clear the JEE advanced, considered one of the toughest entrance exams, to enter the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Do check out EP27 with Ramseena Rasheed, to learn more about their early educational years and journeys. This episode contains personal views of the guest regarding the said academic

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72:51

EP27 - Realising the IIT dream and expanding one's...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2024/03/07

In this episode, MBM’s host Mariyam Haider is in conversation with Ramseena Rasheed from Kasargod, Kerala, who along with her twin sister, Risana, became the first women in their community to clear Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-advanced, considered one of the toughest entrance exams, to enter the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).Ramseena offers a window into her upbringing in a working-class family, the unconditional support from her parents, and wading through patriarchal attitudes of

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49:04

EP26 - Creating safe space for Kerala's queer and...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2024/01/21

In this conversation, MBM’s producer and host, Mariyam Haider speaks with Sulfath Laila and Gargi Harithakam, who are the co-founders of Vanaja Collective - that supports and helps couples from Kerala’s queer community, overcome their families’ resistance and find systemic avenues to bring them together. One of the successful cases that Vanaja Collective worked on was of Adhila Nasarin and Fathima Noora - who fought familial and legal challenges - to reunite and live together as a couple.As a queer

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72:25

EP25 - Celebrating Shaheen Bagh and the power of...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2023/12/22

Main Bhi Muslim’s last episode of the year is with the spirited and incredible human being, Sabika Abbas, aka @boltiaurat on Instagram.Sabika is a poet, organiser, SEL educator and story-teller. Her work revolves around issues of gender, minority rights and justice. She performs in public spaces, edits anthologies, translates and is constantly working on at least five dreamy or nonsensical side projects. If not for her work, she would be a full time stand-up comic or leading a cult of ‘doing

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49:41

EP24 - Embracing one's gender-fluidity and transness

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2023/11/29

In this MBM conversation, Mariyam Haider speaks to Zoya who identify as a “They/Them with a She/Her vibe” and defines themselves as a “queer soul with the vibrant hues of a Transwoman, embracing the diverse rhythms of life.” In this episode, Zoya shares their journey exploring gender fluidity, and discusses how this exploration has enabled them to have more meaningful relationships. They also share their relationship with their Indian Muslim identity and the ways it shows up in their life.A DEI

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44:53

EP23 - Reclaiming freedoms, fun and new futures...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2023/08/15

In this conversation, Mariyam Haider is joined by two of Parcham’s footballers and licensed coaches, 21-year old Madina Bi and 19-year old Fatima Shaikh. Mumbra-based, Madina and Fatima share their journeys with football and negotiating with family members to make it part of their lives. While Madina’s parents are understanding and supportive, Fatema had and continues to have a difficult relationship with her family when it comes to her aspirations. Listeners discretion is advised as this episode

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47:42

EP22: Unfurling new freedoms through football ⚽

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2023/07/08

In this conversation, MBM’s Mariyam Haider is joined by Sabah Khan, Co-Founder of Parcham - a Mumbai-based feminist organisation that champions inclusion, diversity and equality within the society. For more than a decade, Parcham has been running a football program that trains girls from marginalised communities and different religious backgrounds to become footballers and coaches. Their football program began in Mumbra (a predominantly Muslim ghetto on the outskirts of Mumbai) and over the years

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54:03

EP21: The Life & Legacy of Kannada writer and...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2023/06/04

This conversation is between Dr Sabiha Bhoomigowda, retired Vice Chancellor of Karnataka State Women’s Akkamahadevi University, Vijayapura, and scholar Dr Sukanya Kanarally who has kindly interviewed Dr Sabiha on behalf of MBM. Dr Sabiha is a literary critic and was a friend of the late Kannada author, Sara Aboobacker.This episode is dedicated to discussing Sara Aboobacker’s journey as a writer who was deeply influenced by her background as a Muslim woman from the Beary community - predominantly

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55:21

[IWD Special] Muslim women participation in India's...

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2023/03/26

In this International Women’s Day special episode, MBM’s Mariyam Haider is in conversation with the team at LedBy Foundation - India's first leadership incubator that focuses on the professional development of Muslim women. Deepanjali Lahiri is the Chief Operating Officer and Fatema Chiba is the Program Manager at LedBy, which has been running training, mentoring programmes and fellowships to support young Muslim women in India enter entrepreneurial and corporate workspaces. In this episode,

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81:32

EP20: Who Belongs Where in India

Main Bhi Muslim ·

2023/01/08

In this episode, Main Bhi Muslim’s producer and host, Mariyam Haider, speaks with journalist, playwright and award-winning author, Annie Zaidi. Annie has written several books including: City of Incident; Prelude to a Riot; and Bread, Cement, Cactus: A Memoir of Belonging and Dislocation. She is also the editor of Unbound: 2000 Years of Indian Women's Writing.In this episode, we discuss Bread, Cement, Cactus which is her journey to answering questions around her identity and belonging to her home

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39 results

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