What Would The Aunties Say?

"How will you find a husband with that weight?", "put some lipstick on", "you must wax your hair.". These are some things you might hear a South Asian Auntie say when talking about body image. Model and activist Neelam Kaur Gill joins me to discuss the pressures of looking marriage ready and meeting the South Asian standard.

"You will never find a husband in this job, be a doctor", "Indian girls never make it in those industries", "You will never make money in a creative job". When talking to South Asian Aunties about getting into a creative career, these are some of the things you might hear them. I'm joined by BBC Women's Hour presenter and broadcaster Anita Rani. We discuss her experiences as a brown woman in a predominantly white industry and the pressures of following a particular career path.

“Isn't there a cure?!”, “I hope they get well soon”, “so sorry, she will never have a normal life”, “Your childs illness is paying for your bad karma”. These are some of the things you may hear from a South Asian Auntie when seeing a child or person that may have a disability. This is a huge taboo topic within the culture, and my special guest Manal from @wakeupandmakeup shares the experiences of having a sister with cerebral palsy.

"Let him drink, this is what men do", "He's drinking because of you", "Girls don't drink” - these are some of the phrases you might hear from a South Asian Auntie on the topic of alcohol. In this episode, we're discussing alcohol culture, predominantly in the Punjabi culture, whether there is a hidden problem, ways of dealing with alcoholism, and hearing the experiences of my special guest Dipz Danjal and how he was able to turn his life around.

"Girls only leave the home once they're married", "It's shameful to live with a boyfriend", "Why would you want to leave your parents? Don't you love them?" These are some of the things you might here from the Aunties when if you're thinking about moving out of your South Asian family home before marriage. In this episode I'm joined by Niki Mahon where we discuss why the Aunties disapprove so much and how to tackle your parents when dealing with this topic!

"My daughter-in-law doesn't listen", "She's taking him away from the family”, “Live with us beta, and come and learn our families way." These are some of the things the Aunties might say when talking about their daughter-in-law. Dealing with your in-laws can be challenging if you don't have the best relationship. In this episode, I'm joined by psychotherapist Dr. Reenee Singh to discuss how to set boundaries, how to improve in-law relationships, and whether you should live with them after marriage.

“He’s so good, he even changes his child's nappy”, “She wants to tear my son away from his family”. These are some of the lines you might hear from an Auntie that thinks her role as woman is to be submissive and not fight for equality. I am joined by Harsharin, the co-founder of the popular instagram page The Indian Feminist to discuss if the Aunties could be anti-feminist?

"No talking to boys", "Did you see her daughter holding hands with someone?". The Aunties don’t waste any time in snitching to your parents when they catch you out on a date and they’ll have no shame telling everyone too. We’ll be talking about what Dating is like when you’re brown and I have Rupi & Pardeep also known as the brown couple to share their stories.

"Is she crazy?", "what’s wrong with her", "what’s the big deal, just get on with it" These are some of the things the Aunties say when speaking about Mental Health. It is still very much a stigma in the South Asian community and we’ll be discussing why and how to deal with this. I’ll be joined by Ranjot who is a chartered counselling psychologist who specialises in dealing with the South Asian community.

"If you choose him, we don’t want anything to do with you", "he isn’t the same caste as us". These are some of the things the Aunties have said when dealing with Interracial Relationships. This is a BONUS EPISODE where we explore further issues within this topic and I’ll be joined by my follower Mish to share the struggles she faced during her love story.

"just as long as he’s not black" , "he has to be the same as us to be in this family", "if he’s not Indian, make sure he’s white". These are typical lines we hear from South Asian families and the Aunties when speaking about Interracial Relationships at home. I’ll be joined by Jonah who runs an organisation called The Blindian Project and will be able to discuss Anti-Blackness within the South Asian community.

"don’t worry you’ll have a boy next time", "your brother can but you can't". These are some of the things the daughters of South Asian families might hear as they grow up. This is a clear example of Gender Inequality within the South Asian community and I’ll be diving into this and discussing so much more with the founder of the Pink Ladoo Project - Raj.

"Brown girls don’t do that"" Don’t forget your roots". The Aunties and our extended family members love to remind us where we have come from and often dont want us to lose our identities, but it can be difficult to balance being the westernised instagram girl vs the traditional brown girl. I’ll be discussing this with Instagram boss babe, Sebina.

"She’s fair so she’s beautiful"," Don’t go in the sun, you don’t want to get dark", "drink more milk, you’ll become fairer". These are some of the forms of Colourism I’ve experienced growing up around the Aunties. I’ll be joined by Dr Vanita Rattan to discuss this.

"You’re going to be on the shelf","When are you going to get married?", "You can do these things after you’re married". These are just some of the things the Aunties say when putting pressure on you tie the knot. We’ll also be getting into how to deal with those toxic family members and I’ll be joined by Kaushal and Vex King.

Join Anchal, Youtuber, Influencer and a real voice for the Brown girls as she navigates the world of ‘Brown girl problems’ with some very special guests each week. Grab your chai and get ready for a fun and honest chat about all the issues that really get the Aunty’s saris in a twist and how to tackle them!