Shamakami was an early organization of South Asian lesbians and bisexual women based in the United States. ^{[1] [2]} They published a newsletter of the same name between June 1990 and February 1997. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Founding

According to co-founder Sharmeen Islam, shamakami is a Bengali term meaning "love for your equal or same." ^[3] Willy Wilkinson describes it as a reclaimed word describing a woman who desires other women, ^[6] and Monisha Das Gupta describes it as an "excavated indigenous term" meaning "those who desire their equals." ^[7]

Wrote Islam in A Lotus of Another Color in 1993:

"Shamakami was formed with two visions in mind: the creation of a structured way of networking for South Asian lesbians and the creation of a forum in which we can express our sexuality and feminism in our own cultural context. In 1990, Shamakami had no funds, an initial membership of about 40, and a collective of about nine women. Today the organization provides free circulation of newsletters in South Asia, has a membership of 230, and has an active collective of about twenty women. This year, a woman from Assam, one of the more remote parts of India, connected with two lesbians in different parts of India through Shamakami and thus broke her isolation. In June 1991, a contingent of South Asian lesbians participated in a gay pride parade, marching joyously behind the Shamakami banner during the gay pride festivities at San Francisco." ^[3]

Newsletter

Shamakami was one of the first South Asian LGBT magazines in the United States, after Anamika and Trikone.

In 1991, Feminist Collections described Shamakami as a "ten-page publication [which] offers news of relevant conferences and resources, poetry, lengthy editorials, and various personal essays." ^[8] In 1992, Gay Community News described it as a "Forum for South Asian Feminist Lesbians." ^{[5] [9]}

The newsletter was published initially in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later out of San Francisco, California. ^{[5] [8] [10] [11] [12]}

Subscriptions cost $10 per year, ^[13] and were offered for free to subscribers in South Asia. ^[3]

Issues:

• June 1990: Volume 1 ^{[5] [14]}
• January 1991: Volume 2, #1 ^[14]
• June 1991: Volume 2, #2 ^[14]
• February 1992: #4 ^[14]
• June 1994: special edition ^[14]
• November 1994: #7 ^[14]
• February 1997: #9, special edition published by Khuli Zaban ^{[14] [15]}

Events and actions

In addition to the newsletter, Shamakami participated in South Asian American organizing. According to Trinity Ordona, there was an in-person group in San Francisco from 1992–1993, which organized meetings, fundraisers, and social events. ^[5] It also worked with other South Asian LGBTQ organizations, endorsing a 1991 action by the Emergency Coalition to Stop HIV/AIDS in India, ^[16] and co-sponsoring the 1995 Pride Utsav conference in San Francisco, organized by Trikone. ^[17]

See also

• Anamika newsletter, 1985-1987
• Trikone magazine
• SamiYoni magazine
• Timeline of South Asian and diasporic LGBT history

References