August 2004: The State of South Asian Women

Unrelenting in its expanse, expository, explanatory and defiant, Bibi’s Fifth Anniversary issue is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of South Asian women all over America. Five extraordinary women, Chitra Divakaruni, Mira Nair, Norah Jones, Zain Verjee and our cover girl, supermodel Saira Mohan, have exhorted the boundaries of our existence with the impetus of their potential. As cultural icons, they have given us the strength and substance to capsize the centuries-old vessel of inequality. With the skeleton of imposed values exposed, discover how, when merely questioned, certain gender ideals disintegrate and the stigma of the South Asian Good girl/ Bad girl is easily deconstructed. Read about a more alarming shame our society refuses to acknowledge: the veiled violence women suffer in their own homes—and find out what you can do to stop it. Like our feminine mystique, the stories of women are layered and multifaceted, and this issue presents an exclusive three-dimension insight on adultery from the perspectives of three women, each equally stricken with the same degrees of loss, love and lust.

This issue is also celebration of the rich, profound culture from which these women retrieve their essence, so get inspired with an impressive South Asian dinner for your parents and in-laws, festooning your table with plush antiquated fabrics, stark white flowers and gilded tableware. And if all that isn’t enough, a stunning 57-carats of diamonds from Govindji’s StarJewelers and luxurious saris and pantsuits from Sila.com may just convince you that this issue is a tour de force—a great work, which has taken five years to come into being.