Uploaded November 2017 | Updated September 2026, 57 minutes ago

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Fela Kuti was deeply inspired by the decolonization tactics of non-violence that Mahatma Gandhi used in India in the 1940s, who was in turn inspired by the non-violence practices often employed by the Suffragists of the 1920s in England. Madame Gandhi discusses why Fela's work in Nigeria inspired her, and about the song called "Bad Habits" she co-created with Zach Witness that she will be dropping in 2018. Watch her on this Facebook Live interview with Pan-African Tunisian blogger and feminist Aya Chebbi.

Bio: Kiran Gandhi, who performs as Madame Gandhi, is a Los Angeles-based musician, activist and music industry thinker. She has toured professionally drumming for M.I.A and Thievery Corporation and currently DJs, drums and produces music under her own name. Her song “The Future is Female” climbed to #8 on the Viral US Top 50 Spotify Charts following the 2017 Women’s March and her solo EP Voices has received critical acclaim from outlets like FADER, Paper Mag, Billboard and Milk.

Kiran holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, Political Science and Women’s Studies from Georgetown (COL ’11) and an MBA from Harvard Business School (2015), and has used her degrees to run her own musical project as well as advise music companies Spotify, Stem, Bonnaroo, Pandora, YouTube and D’addario. Between 2011-2013, Kiran worked at Interscope Records for two years as their first ever digital analyst, studying patterns in Spotify and YouTube consumption behavior.

In 2015, she ran the London Marathon free-bleeding to combat period stigma around the world, sparking a global viral conversation about how we treat menstruation in various cultures. She now travels often to perform and speak about modern gender equality, and is also working on her full-length album. Madame Gandhi’s mission is to elevate and celebrate the female voice.

twitter.com/madamegandhi
facebook.com/madamegandhi
instagram.com/madamegandhi

madamegandhi.com
ayachebbi.com
zachwitness.com