{"id":4448,"date":"2026-05-08T18:12:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/?p=4448"},"modified":"2026-05-08T18:12:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:12:01","slug":"devinder-johal-challenges-gendered-ageism-and-violence-against-women-in-the-south-asian-canadian-community-henna-mann","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/2026\/05\/08\/devinder-johal-challenges-gendered-ageism-and-violence-against-women-in-the-south-asian-canadian-community-henna-mann\/","title":{"rendered":"Devinder Johal challenges gendered ageism and violence against women in the South Asian Canadian community – Henna Mann"},"content":{"rendered":"

Devinder Kaur Johal, 89, a celebrated author and performer in Surrey, British Columbia, kept her passion for writing and singing a secret for decades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in 1936 in Punjab, India, Devinder left school after Grade 7 and spent her youth preparing for marriage\u2014handcrafting items for a dowry and living under strict gender norms. \u201cWe believed our futures belonged to our parents,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWe put boys at the front ourselves too\u2014because we didn\u2019t know better.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her first poems were letters to a friend who moved away after marriage, quietly expressing her longing. The voice prompted by the longing of her friend would grow louder over time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After immigrating to England in 1965, and later settling in Canada, Devinder juggled factory work, childcare, and household responsibilities. Her love for poetry and singing didn’t disappear, but she didn\u2019t feel free to pursue it\u2014until a tragic event in 1996 pushed her to write with a purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

A mass shooting in Vernon, BC<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> where a man killed nine people after his wife tried to divorce him, disturbed her deeply. \u201cThis tragedy compelled my mom to write about her thoughts and feelings about the role of women in Punjabi culture, how they are mistreated, and how they can be empowered.,\u201d says her daughter Ravi Basi, librarian and manager of multicultural services at the Surrey Library.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At an age when most people slow down, Devinder began using poetry to confront gender-based violence. Today, Devinder has written and published eight poetry books. Her writing reflects both personal struggle and broader calls for justice. She speaks openly about her experience with depression. During that time, her husband encouraged her to find community, and she joined the Indo-Canadian Senior Centre, where other women supported her creativity<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey related to her poems,\u201d Basi says. \u201cShe would perform her original poetry at the centre every week. The ladies would encourage and support her.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This transformation from being an invisible older woman to a community voice is not common among Punjabi immigrant women in Canada. <\/span>Older Punjabi women often experience social<\/span> isolation<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> not only due to gender or age, but also because they grew up with limited educational and social opportunities\u2014making them especially vulnerable in Canada. According to gerontologist Dr. Sharon Koehn, many also face<\/span> neglect in multigenerational households<\/span><\/a> and are made to feel invisible<\/span>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Devinder resists that erasure as she continues to write and perform. \u201cIf five out of a hundred women take inspiration from my books, I would say my purpos<\/span>e has been fulfilled,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Artistic Expression to Systematic Change<\/span><\/h2>\n

Thamilini Jothilingam, digital archivist at the<\/span> South Asian Canadian Digital Archive <\/span><\/a>(<\/span>SACDA), an initiative of the South Asian Studies Institute, is preserving Devinder\u2019s poetry and performances as part of a new folk songs collection. \u201cHer story offers a powerful role model\u2014someone who embodies perseverance, passion, and purpose,\u201d says Jothilingam. \u201cThe lived experiences of elderly Punjabi and South Asian women are essential\u2014by documenting and preserving their stories, we challenge the structures that have rendered them invisible for too long.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope they\u2019ll see in her a mirror, a guide, and a reminder that their voices matter. That their art matters. And that it\u2019s never too late to dream, create, or begin anew.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Systematic support for the women Devinder advocates for is critical. Meena Dhillon, lawyer and co-founder of the<\/span> South Asian Legal Clinic of BC<\/span><\/a> (SALCBC), works closely with South Asian women facing family violence. \u201cA lot of the women we support have never done anything for themselves,\u201d Dhillon says. \u201cThey grew up with no agency. Part of\u00a0<\/span>our work is showing them it\u2019s okay to take space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meena co-hosts the<\/span> Cha, Chaat and Chit Chat<\/span><\/a> support circle with Ravi at the Surrey Library, where Devinder often attends and speaks. \u201cThe women lov<\/span>e hearin<\/span>g her,\u201d says Dhillon. \u201cShe reminds them of their mothers and grandmothers. Her poetry gives them hope\u2014and agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

SALCBC is also fighting justice nationally. It recently gained intervenor status in<\/span> Ahluwalia v.<\/span> Ahluwalia<\/span>,<\/span> a Supreme Court of Canada case debating whether family <\/span>violence should be recognized as a distinct legal tort. If successful, the case could mark a shift in how courts respond to intimate <\/span>partner violence\u2014an issue that disproportionately affects immigrant women.<\/p>\n

Devinder\u2019s poetry brings awareness to the very issues debated in court, while continuously encouraging women to speak out and leave family violence behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

She has read her work at literary events, the South Asian Studies Institute, senior centers, and even won \u201cMost Popular Vote\u201d at the PICS Golden Glam-Ma Pageant. Her story is a reminder that dreams deferred are not dreams lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter your age or your circumstances,\u201d she says, \u201cyou all have something valuable to say, whether it is through writing, story-telling, poetry, dance, singing, or conversation. Don\u2019t let your voice be stuck in your throat.\u201d And to herself, she adds: \u201cDevinder, you will reach the moon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Devinder Kaur Johal, 89, a celebrated author and performer in Surrey, British Columbia, kept her passion for writing and singing a secret for decades.\u00a0 Born in 1936 in Punjab, India, Devinder left school after Grade 7 and spent her youth preparing for marriage\u2014handcrafting items for a dowry and living under strict gender norms. \u201cWe believed … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":4449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4448"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4457,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4448\/revisions\/4457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/sasi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}