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August 2016
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Her response: “In 2000, I was collecting data on young Indian womanhood for my MPhil in Gender and Development Studies, and was taking an ethnographic approach that included reflexivity about my own experiences. I was a young woman exploring various sites for feminism, from pageants to rapso to activism. Moving from these experiences through a feminist research institute marks my trajectory. Being Ms Mastana Bahar was only one part of that”. Gender Studies, Dr Hosein argues, is a complex area of scholarship that explores the fact that there is often no pure place for resistance by women and men who are embedded in the status quo and who are rewarded for meeting their ideals. The discipline involves examining those who spend their lives redefining how they live manhood and womanhood in ways that reflect the complexity of their experiences. On the course of study and layered by life around her, Dr Hosein sought to understand how women negotiate their lives daily in a patriarchal world. This process of ‘identity negotiation’ is a central tenet of gender studies, and one that coincides with the philosophy of the IGDS. The convergence of this principle seems to have naturally led to her appointment as head of the Institute. She added, “As a scholar, I've drawn on research and experience to better understand the value of ethnography, the symbolic interlock of gender and culture, and the idea that there is no pure place for resistance in our lives given our simultaneous challenges to and investments in the status quo”. Dr Hosein’s history with the IGDS started in 1997 as a student in the then pioneering MPhil (Master of Philosophy) programme. As faculty, she served under six former heads of the institute, all of whom she said, contribute to her outlook now and preparation for leadership. Her own path presently seems to be a uniting these influences. She testifies weekly to the versatility of a generation of feminists building on the work of those who came before in her column, Diary of a Mothering Worker. She has a deep appreciation for mentorship - a prominent feature of the Institute that has directly contributed to the person she is today. As head, this will remain one of her key values. IGDS Ignite is the mobilisation and mentorship programme she plans to use to interest students at the secondary school level - to read for a minor in Interdisciplinary Gender Studies. This engagement she hopes, will lead to them building life-long skills whether such skills relate to civic society, economy matters, Caribbean social movements, or interest in higher education. In so doing, both the academic goals of the university are achieved while the Institute makes an investment in the future of the nation – our children. Apart from the business of teaching, research and public engagement, the Institute is now actively promoting policy planning. Dr Hosein intends to frame the work of the IGDS as that of a policy think tank. This will entail activities such as bringing gender-sensitive budget analyses to public discourses and to create a link between research and public recommendations. With regard to the mainstay function of the Institute, there is no plan for a major in Gender Studies. Dr Hosein believes there is greater benefit to the discipline and reach of the Institute, if many students from various faculties have an interdisciplinary approach to their chosen fields of study. This approach speaks directly to the concept of gender-sensitivity permeating all aspects of living. Focus will instead be on developing the graduate programme. When asked to envision the IGDS three or six years from today and describe what she hopes to leave her successor, Dr Hosein responded, “I hope to leave a legacy that includes the Institute fully supporting the production and public impact of graduate students and staff scholarship. I see the Institute remaining a place where students feel welcome and safe to organise against hetero-patriarchal gender relations and brainstorm the promotion of gender justice. It is a legacy that will make the Institute feel like a youthful, vibrant space, a hub for student gathering, feminist discourse, activist engagement and debates about strategies for social change”. Tyrone Ali is a lecturer and Deputy Dean (Student Affairs) of the Faculty of Humanities and Education |
My first question to Dr Hosein brought spontaneous laughter: explain exactly how you move from being crowned Mastana Bahar Queen in 2000 to being appointed Head, Gender and Development Studies in 2016?