Engendered is an annual, New York-based transnational arts and human rights festival that brings together the best in contemporary South Asian cinema, visual arts and performance to explore the complex realities of gender and sexuality in modern South Asia, especially at the intersection of ritual and religion. The festival is designed not only to raise awareness, but also act as a fulcrum to enter public dialogue, break silences and impact perceptions around issues of gendered identities, stereotyping, bias and sexual choice and further, how those issues relate to affirmation or violations of human rights, health rights and women's rights.

The festival also has satellite events over the year 'The EnGendered Salon Series': A series of community arts events which extend the dialogue from the annual multidisciplinary arts festival, EnGendered, to various venues in New York City , like the recent one 'I want your Sex: Discussions and Screenings around the changing visual landscape of S.Asian intimacies and sexualities'. Last year, the festival featured over 50 most influential and prolific, established and emerging, traditional and folk, modern and experiential artists, academics, and activists from India, Pakistan & the South Asian Diaspora, as well as artists from Europe and the United States. The festival received tremendous press coverage with presence from mainstream media such as BBC, Newsweek, India Abroad (cover page article), India in NY, and many others. Recently, NY Times carried two glowing reviews about Nayikas (Founding Sponsor) and some of the artists featured in EnGendered. For more information on artists and the different components of the 2oo8 festival, please visit www.nayikas.org/engendered.