Welcome to the first instalment of Reform The Funk’s The Sisterhood Series; an exploration of how collectives, communities, families and groups of non-binary identifying individuals and women holding each other up through support, empowerment, and collaborative mentorship.

We begin The Sisterhood Series by introducing you to YSM8 Monthly Meets (pronounced Yes Mate) - a safe space for Sikh women and nonbinary people to join and share their opinions and stories by running topical events and workshops centering on ideas such as anxiety and motherhood, YSM8 aims to connect and cherish a sense of community through conversation. Inviting different narratives to come and be heard in their honest and nurturing space, YSM8 harvests an ethos of oneness and equality between Sikh women and non-binary people. Setting a glorious example of how friendship and sisterly advise can uplift. These qualities shon even brighter from the YSM8 women who took part in the series. Talking with YSM8 Founder & Creative Director, Poonam, and co-collaborator, Pav, we heard what the motivations behind their Monthly Meets were and how sharing differences of opinion can be so fruitful.

YSM8 started back in 2018 by you Poonam, how has the project changed since then?

Poonam - It started off as a Punjabi supper club series where we were serving up home-cooked Punjabi food with storytelling. And then the supper club series quite naturally evolved into other events.

Pav -What we do on monthly basis is we bring women and non-binary peeps together and each month has a different topic. It’s just a safe, nurturing, and honest space.

That sounds really special. What brought you two together to collaborate in this way?

Poonam - I met Pav on Instagram....

Pav - Yes, we did indeed, and we hit it off instantly on so many different levels. We were having these fruitful discussions as Sikh Punjabi women [about] our upbringing, our Punjabi culture and spirituality and as our friendship evolved, we realised, there’s actually no central point for Sikh Punjabi women to come together, in London especially. So we were like ‘right, let's create this!’, [and] that’s how YSM8 Monthly Meets came to be.

What is it that you want people to take away from joining a YSM8 Monthly Meet?

Poonam – Whether they come once or every month, what’s important is we are uplifting and engaging, and people are learning. That they leave learning something new, or potentially making friends or meeting collaborators - so I think there’s many levels that go into it. The bottom line is that we start with the intention and the vulnerability. There’s no pressure, it’s comfortable.

We always do feedback at the end and women have said ‘this is like a therapy session for me. I wouldn’t have thought to go to therapy because there’s not someone who looks like me who I can share these vulnerabilities with [or to] get advice from people my age with the same kind of experience.’ Again, that comes down to the intention of the space that we’ve created. It’s lovely when that’s resonated and ripples through from people’s feedback.

How have your own experiences inspired the creation of YSM8?

Poonam – For me, I grew up in a very white area [and] didn’t have that many Punjabi friends growing up so, subconsciously, I think this is a space I’ve been craving my whole life.

Pav – Yes, definitely. This is a big part of our Punjabi culture.

Poonam – It's a place where you can feel that you’re being your whole self, there’s no judgement. And who are we to judge [anyway]! We are all learning from each other's highs and lows.

Pav – Its life experience, isn’t it. We’re all on our individual journeys and it’s just lovely that we can come together as a collective and really celebrate one another, lift one another [up]. It’s very, very empowering.

How do your own Sikh beliefs feed into the Monthly Meets?

Poonam – The backbone of YSM8 and it’s core values are oneness and equality, which stem from our Sikh faith. It's ingrained naturally in {all we do}. Pav and myself are very spiritual, and in a way, we don’t even think about it.

Pav – I think with something like {spirituality} you don’t walk around saying ‘I’m this, I’m that’, it's something innate within you, that you hold so dearly within your heart and soul. It's been in our upbringing so those are the kind of vibes that have transpired into YSM8 Monthly Meets. We’ll never impose it on anyone within the group but there is this underlying tone that there’s something bigger than us, something bigger than YSM8 Monthly Meets.

Poonam - That’s something that Pav and I take comfort in, individually, and we want to share with other people. So, whether you believe in God or you don’t believe in God, it’s neither here nor there, if you can connect with something bigger, then we’re on our way.

Pav – It’s coming back to the motives of Monthly Meets. If we can invoke a feeling from within, that means the world to us. If we can leave one individual inspired, fantastic, our job here is done, a lot of the focus for YSM8 Monthly Meets is on creating a safe space.

How have you ensured that sense of protective support?

Pav – Poonam and I set the tone, we drop our prejudgments [and] come to the table with fresh eyes. We are facilitating this circle [for women to] come every month, to be vulnerable and share their stories. That’s something we’ll always hold sacred space for.

Poonam – We always say, come with an open heart and come with an open mind. Respect everyone’s opinion because we are coming from diverse backgrounds, even though we are Sikh and Punjabi, there are so many nuances. We all learn and share from each other's experiences.

What benefits do you see in people sharing differences of opinions?

Poonam – [It’s about] that openness to learn from each other; we’re not always going to agree on certain things but it’s about being respectful in that space and listening to each other's opinions and having that open mindedness.

Pav – There’s a lot of power in listening; as humans we’re wanting to be listened to; it’s really nurturing. All the women’s energy is genuine and I think that’s why we’re drawn to them as individuals. We have that sisterhood with one another and it’s the women here today who make YSM8 Monthly Meets and we’re so proud of them. It’s about them really.

Interview with - Poonam, Founder of YSM8. Cultural insights, research & strategy consultant @pdhuffer and Pav, Co-collaborator of YSM8 Monthly Meets @pavintarge. You can follow YSM8 on Twitter @YSM8events and Instagram @_ysm8.

Credits

Director: Sheena Bonsu Brobbey DOP: Julia Fiona Brown Stylist: Femi Ayo Photography: Shonay Shote MUA: Wendy Asumadu MUA: Francesca Daniella Hair: Sheree Jourdan & Phebe Checks Wendy assisted by Amari Fisher Frankie assisted by @phebe.checks Photography assisted by @florenceakano Hair assisted by @nasa_raye Creative Assistant: Siphiwe Mnguni Creative Assistant: Ryanna Allen Edit: Shaquilla Alexander Words: Bethany Burgoyne