'Love Letters to the Betian' is an exploration of what it means to be a daughter in South Asian societies, paying homage to both the struggle and the beauty of being a South Asian woman. This issue aims to celebrate female artists who come from an array of diverse cultures—and yet remain connected through their united female experience. Here, we tell the stories of strength and resilience, acting as an ode to all the women who have risen and continue to do so under the scrutinizing gaze of society.

 

Whilst bringing recognition to the unseen, this issue also intends to highlight the joys of our world with reverence and respect. There’s nothing like rushing to curate the best Mehndi design on chaand raat, or being adorned with gold the moment we’re born. Our girlhood is a mosaic of bindis, braids, khusay and chai. Let us bring light to the struggles of the oldest daughter and the labor of our mothers whilst appreciating our culture, our identity, our history—balancing the worlds of pain and privilege.

 

In honor of the women that came before us, the women that we are, the women that we will be and the women that are to come—this is a love letter to the Betian.