Unlearning Motherhood

Building a community and leading with confidence

Malika is a multifaceted leader who combines her professional expertise with a deep commitment to community-building. She is the founder and president of the Bengalis of Atlanta community, where she has successfully created a vibrant network for Bangladeshi young professionals. Academically, Malika is well- grounded in economic and financial policy. She earned her Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. In her current role as a Workstream Lead/Manager at Deloitte, Malika has been at the forefront of numerous high-stake projects. She has played a critical role in shaping market strategies for digital procurement in the Federal, State, Local, and Higher Education sectors. Outside of her professional and community endeavors, Malika is an avid painter, writer, and a culinary enthusiast who enjoys exploring different cuisines.

Unlearning Motherhood

Motherhood is the most beautiful journey and like any other journey it comes with many challenges and joys. There’s no perfect way to prepare yourself for this journey, and culturally we never talk about the struggles of a mother. Our society is accustomed to seeing happy pictures of Mothers with their children – but what about the not so happy days? What about depression, anger or just the not so good days? How parents and mothers are judged when children fall sick, or how a mother struggles when her child has a disability or illness? In this episode – we break down the various sides of motherhood and talk about unlearning what our culture has taught us about motherhood with Nabanita Sen Bekkers. Nabanita is based in the Netherlands and is currently the director at Opportunities Unlimited and is a mother to three amazing children.

Living alone and learning to deal with grief

Our culture traditionally puts immense pressure on women to get married at a certain age, to have a family and live our life by the ways set out by our society. Is it difficult to live alone being a woman in your 30’s away from home? How do we build a fulfilling life for ourselves? In this episode, Maisha talks about being single and living away from home. She talks about the importance of friends and family and self-care. As Bangladeshi women, we are never really taught to deal with grief or talk about emotional pains. In this episode we talk about losing a loved one, and how we can manage and deal with grief.

Navigating Mother - Daughter Relationship

The mother-daughter relationship is undoubtedly one of the most important relationships that we have as women. Yet, sometimes our culture and upbringing can make it complex and difficult.  In this episode host Asna Towfiq and Zannatul Ferdous speak about the journey of living away from home, evolving as a woman and navigating the mother-daughter relationship. Zannatul Ferdous is currently based in Lisbon, Portugal and has over 13 years of experience in the field of development and impact.

Living away from home as students

How do we navigate life as young Bangladeshi students living abroad? What does it mean to ShowUp as students in today's world? How do we represent ourselves as Bangladeshis? In this episode host Asna Towfiq and Ayonti Mahreen Huq (AMH) speak about the recent crisis in Bangladesh. Ayonti is a Bangladeshi- multimedia artist currently residing in Toronto, Canada. Her work reflects both her critique of society and her understanding of the world and beyond, both real and imaginary.