Today's newsletter is dedicated to using your glow to take up space, brought to you by The Spill*

Hey Glow Gang!

Welcome to your weekly dose of information, inspiration and joy for all things BIPOC women!

Today we're covering some cool wins in the news - like the first group of women to be heading to space 🧑🏽‍🚀. Black History Month just kicked off in the US and Canada. We’re spotlighting some of our favourite Black women to support in this week’s Trailblazing Women section.

I’m also very excited to share our new section, Take Up Space With The Spill. Every two weeks, you will get access to a powerful story from The Spill. Glowreel & The Spill: amplifying marginalised voices, together ✊🏽

Let's get glowing

-Shilpa

P.S. I'm always keen to hear what you think of the Glowreel newsletter (and I LOVE hearing from you in general). If you have any feedback - good or bad - hit reply to this email and let me know. Or you can take the poll at the bottom of the email :)

News Of The Week

Educate A Woman, Educate A Nation 💜

Human Rights

Reprieve for Afghan women in Denmark 💜 Denmark will grant asylum status to Afghan women “solely based on gender”. Sweden is doing the same. The decision comes in response to the Taliban completely restricting women’s rights and freedoms in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile: Universities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan are providing women from Afghanistan with access to education 👏🏽

Science

Among the stars 🚀 Lauren Sanchez will lead the first all-female crew into space. The six person crew will consist of "women who are making a difference in the world and who are impactful and have a message to send." The launch date is TBC but Sanchez is looking at early next year.

Speaking of space: It’s been 20 years since the Columbia space shuttle disaster which killed 7 astronauts. This included Kalpana Chawla, who was the first Indian woman, and the first Southeast Asian American woman, to fly in space.

More News Nuggets

Extra Nuggets 👀

• Cold enough for snow ❄️ We’re talking about Jessica Au’s award winning novel. “I wrote this in order to argue… that we must keep our focus on altering the everyday conditions of the many.” Check it out here.

• Ah, Netflix… 📺 So we’re all mad about this password sharing ridiculousness BUT, we love Bela Bajaria, aka the new head of content at Netflix.

• Lock up your wallets 💰 Beyoncé announced her Renaissance World Tour - her first tour in 7 years! Meanwhile, Riri has apparently filed a trademark for a Fenty Kids clothing line. 2023, you’re gonna be expensive!

• A judicial milestone 👩🏽‍⚖️ Lana Chester and Natalie Browne are the first Aboriginal people ever appointed as magistrates in South Australia.

• Ladies and gentlemen… H.E.R! 👏🏽 The R&B superstar graces the cover of Vogue Philippines #strikeapose.

Glowreel Recos

What we’re loving this week:

Watch - The Swimmers: following Yusra Mardini’s journey from the Syrian War to the Rio 2016 Olympics 🏊🏽‍♀️

Make - Korean style pizza toast by Aeri’s Kitchen. Simple and delicious - it’s a win-win! 🍕

Support Black Women Owned Businesses

Flora and Noor Vitamin C and Niacinamide Super Glow Moisturizer$34 (USD, ships worldwide)

Trailblazing Women

Black History Month: 6 Black Women To Listen To, Learn From And Support

February is Black History Month in the US and Canada. The national holiday is dedicated to celebrating and uplifting Black people (here for it! But also let's make sure this happens all year round). 

This year's theme is resistance, recognising the resistance of brutality, injustice and oppression by Black communities. This post by Impact and this video by Blair Imani and Kahlil Greene are a great way to learn about origins of Black history month.

In honour of celebrating and uplifting Black people we’ve rounded up some of our favourite Black Women who share their stories, experiences and Black history to listen to, learn from and support, today and always. Let’s go!

• Nicole Cardoza - Founder of Anti-Racism Daily: A daily newsletter that provides reporting, education and action for dismantling white supremacy. You’re in for a whole lot of learning (and un-learning).

• Zai Sylla - Zai recommends books, films and TV series with a variety of strong black leads. Her videos are easy to digest and incredibly informative. Learn more about Zai here.

• Tamkara Adun - Author, Educator, Researcher, Indigenous African Historian and founder of Odunife African Language & History School. Tamkara has a particular focus on teaching African history from a decolonized and African centred narrative.

• Amanda Parris - Television and radio host for the CBC who also has a weekly column on Black art and culture. Parris is known for telling the stories of people that nobody else is sharing.

• Blair Imani - Blair’s ‘Smarter In Seconds’ will make you more aware and informed ... in seconds! Blair covers a wide range of topics in her series, including race and racism.

• Candace Reels - intersectional feminist, culture curator, self-love advocate, fierce champion for women empowerment, and founder of Female Collective. Learn more about Candace here.

Lioness Thoughts

Nominate A Shoutout

Tell us about someone doing cool shit.

It can be you, your friends or family or someone else you know. Whether you’ve just started a book club, are creating artistic makeup looks for fun, or are doing some research and want to hear from women of colour. We want to share thing cool things you’re doing with a community shoutout!

Please send your nominations to [email protected] or DM us on our socials :)

This week's email was brought to you by Shilpa Bhim, founder of Glowreel. You can see more of her work at www.shilpabhim.com or follow her on Instagram @shilpa.bhim

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