We The Women returns to Mumbai with a star-packed line-up curated by Barkha Dutt

MUMBAI: After setting London ablaze with its unmistakable energy, We The Women, India’s foremost women-centric ideas festival, returns to Mumbai for its eighth edition, louder, bolder and more unforgettable than ever. Curated and moderated by award-winning journalist Barkha Dutt, the festival continues to serve as a space for conversation, celebration and community, honouring both women and men who have emerged as changemakers across different walks of life.

This year, in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, the festival carries an especially powerful heartbeat through the presence of women in uniform. Women soldiers and air warriors from the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force are set to participate, offering a poignant reminder of the courage, discipline and spirit of service that defines India’s armed forces.

Joining them on stage is a constellation of voices that have shaped culture, public life and contemporary storytelling. World Cup champion Harmanpreet Kaur brings with her the spirit of a sportswoman who has redefined Indian cricket’s possibilities through sheer grit and match-winning brilliance. Parliamentarian and cinema icon Jaya Bachchan adds a voice of authenticity that has remained her strongest armour over the decades. Actor Rani Mukerji continues to represent the evolving power of Indian women on screen, while Janhvi Kapoor brings a blend of legacy and individuality as she fearlessly charts her own creative journey.

Actors Vijay Varma and Ishaan Khatter add to the line-up as men who are unafraid to amplify women-led narratives both on-screen and off. Author Shobhaa De’s razor-sharp commentary promises to spark conversations that question longstanding social norms, while designer Manish Malhotra, who transformed fashion into a language of aspiration, joins fellow creative disruptor Masaba Gupta, whose bold design vocabulary has become a cultural movement in its own right.

The stage further expands with voices like Neha Dhupia, who uses her platform to challenge conventional ideas around motherhood, identity and body image; Malaika Arora, whose unapologetic ownership of self continues to dismantle ageist and sexist stereotypes; Dia Mirza, whose steadfast environmental advocacy positions her as one of India’s leading sustainability storytellers; and Rasika Dugal, whose nuanced and uncompromising performances represent a new grammar of acting in contemporary Indian cinema.