“A crater on venus is named after Anandibai, but not a single road or school in India.”
A panel discussion with Musih Tedji Xaviere (These Letters End In Tears) , Kavitha Rao (Lady Doctors) and Njambi McGrath (Rinsing Mukami’s Soul), examining the persistence of patriarchy across histories and cultures. The conversation will confront a provocative
question: How much has really changed for women, and why do we keep telling the same stories?
From the resistance faced by the Indian women pioneering medicine in the 1800s, to stories set in present day Kenya and Cameroon where women are subject to societal male violence, these works - despite exploring different cultures and moments in history - all reveal a shared global narrative. The women in These Letters End in Tears, Lady Doctors, and Rinsing Mukami’s Soul are all forced to confront rigid gender roles, institutional exclusion and the policing of their bodies and desires.
The panel will examine why narratives of resistance, survival, and self-reclamation remain so necessary. Are these repetitions evidence of stalled progress, or do they reveal patriarchy’s ability to adapt and reassert itself in new forms?
The discussion will be chaired by Katja Holtz, VM Operations Manager and lapsed anthropologist.
***
Musih Tedji Xaviere is a Cameroonian fiction writer whose work explores love, alternative ways of seeing, and the human condition. Her debut novel, These Letters End in Tears, won the 2021 Pontas & JJ Bola Emerging Writers Prize and was nominated for the 2025 British Book Awards. She is represented by the Pontas Literary and Film Agency.
Njambi McGrath is a Kenyan born, UK based comedian and author. Amongst her amazing accolades, she was voted 1 of 5 top female comedians to watch by Fabolus Magazine 2012. She has been called the Important Voice by The Times and her comedy has been called 'Trailblazing' by The Guardian. Njambi was nominated Best Newcomer Black Comedy Awards 2012 recently won the 2019 NATYS Award. She has also appeared on BBC World New Years Comedy, BBC Radio 4 Saturday Live.
Kavitha Rao is a freelance journalist and writer. She has spoken at numerous literary fests, including The Times Lit Fest in Bengaluru, the Tata Lit Fest in Mumbai, and the Kasauli Lit Fest. She has also taught journalism at several colleges including the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media in Bangalore, Sophia College in Mumbai, and the Times College of Journalism in Mumbai.Kavitha's work has been published in the Guardian, the New York Times, the South China Morning Post, the National, Quartz and several others.
***
Event structure
7.00pm - Doors open
7.30pm - Introductions
7.45pm - Opening discussion
8.30pm - Comfort break
8.45pm - Continuing discussion and questions from the audience
9.30pm - Finish