“It’s about the moments that disrupted the plan"
Anita Rani has launched her new podcast, Sisters of Defiance, through her production company Illuminaunty Productions.
The podcast features candid conversations with women who have challenged expectations, broken conventions and reshaped culture on their own terms.
Guests include Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity during one of France’s most shocking rape trials in solidarity with fellow victims.
Other names confirmed for the series include Anoushka Shankar, entrepreneur and CEO Emma Grede, and comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri.
Sisters of Defiance will see Anita sit down with women who have pushed beyond conventional limits.
Recorded from the presenter’s home studio, the podcast explores how cultural figures, trailblazers and female icons responded during moments where they refused to conform or ignored expectations and power structures.
The series has been created in partnership with wellness company Ancient + BRave.
Anita Rani said: “This podcast is another moment in which I’m breaking free to do things my own way, and to shout about people I see as fellow defiant ones, who’ve taken risks, broken rules and quietly or loudly changed the shape of things.
“It’s about the moments that disrupted the plan and what it really took to keep going when things got complicated. The honest stuff we don’t often get to talk about.
“I am building community for the people who want to belong. It has purpose: to fuel and recharge and inspire.
“To lead with integrity and to listen to the voices of powerful women with stories to share.”
The first episode was released on May 26 and featured Dame Meera Syal.
The conversation saw the pair discuss divorce within South Asian communities, representation in British media and the pressures faced by British Asian women navigating cultural expectations.
During the discussion, the pair reflected on the groundbreaking impact of the iconic British Asian film Bhaji on the Beach and what it meant for brown audiences at the time.
Anita said:
“My experiences were being reflected.”
Meera also reflected on her groundbreaking work in British television and cinema, describing a generation of South Asian creatives as “invincible” despite being largely “unrepresented” on screen.
Speaking about stereotypes surrounding South Asians in Britain, she said:
“People didn’t know South Asians could be funny and creative.
“They thought we were the people who set their bones in hospitals or sold them their newspapers in the corner shop.”
Watch the 1st Episode
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