In Hindi translates to free or independent – to live unbound, to move without permission, to belong only to yourself and your people. It carries with it the breath of independence, the pulse of fearlessness and the quiet resistance of those who refuse to be owned. Aazaad speaks not just to the absence of constraint, but to the presence of dignity, will and the deep memory of liberation. Aaazad is what I hear in Arundhati Roy’s work: “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing”.

The call for Aazaad has echoed through the ages, across continents and borders, from thousands of people chanting in unison to the whispers of those who recite it in private. This namesake holds a spirit of freedom that can be drawn upon, no matter who or where we are or what we are contending with.

Having ancestral roots for me, Aazaad resonates with my commitment to transformative systemic change, intersectional strategies and a belief that all liberation from oppression is interconnected.

For over two decades, my frontline professional experience in human services has taken place at the stark intersections of power, culture, race and resistance, where meaningful change is both urgent and possible.

I have worked extensively with young people and family groups across advocacy and leadership roles in family and domestic violence, mental health, program co-design, community organising and reflective supervision. Anchored in abolitionist and anti-colonial approaches, my praxis centres relational integrity, critical systems thinking and building collective power for sustainable long-term change.

Dedicated to intersectionality in practice, I value cultural humility and cultural safety, critical reflexivity, strong theoretical and principled inquiry and a refusal to collapse complexity for comfort.

Aazaad is a promise, a commitment and a practice that refuses the false choices of empire and instead reaches for a freedom that is relational, collective and fiercely alive.