[Soasiastudents] Tasveer Critical Panel Discussion

[Keith Snodgrass]

 Download the original
attachment<http://?attid=0.1&disp=attd&view=att&th=118f18d4126e0890>

*AAINA 2008*

*Critical Panel Discussion*

*South Asian Women: Fundamentalism, Religion, Violence, and Governance*

*Sponsored by: South Asia Center, University of Washington  *

http://www.tasveer.org/newsletters/Aaina%202008-03-30%204:00%20Critical%20Panel%20Discussion/

*Date:* March 30th, 4-7PM

*Venue:* Central Cinema, Seattle


This panel looks into the ways that issues of religion, fundamentalism,
violence, and governance intersect with each other and simultaneously impact
the lives of South Asian women located in a multiplicity of situations. The
panel is composed of the following speakers:

1. *Prof. Elora Chowdhury* (University of Massachusetts) will be exploring
the question of violence and women in Bangladesh and in particular will
focus on the growing epidemic of acid attack against women in the country.
By focusing on the story of Bina Akhter, a survivor/activist of acid
violence, she will explore how feminists in Bangladesh navigate Orientalist,
modernist, and transnational discourses of women's empowerment in developing
strategies and initiatives in response to gendered violence.

2. *Prof. Shahnaz Khan* (Wilfred Laurier University, Ontario) will be
speaking on notions of rescuing Muslim woman as a form of colonial feminism
through which accounts of their de-contextualized lives by some western
feminists help produce a discourse that suggests timeless tradition, Islam
and their misogynist men as the cause of their oppression.  She maintains
that in identifying local patriarchies as the sole cause of women's
oppression support for military missions masked as rescue missions are
generated.  Using examples from Afghanistan and Pakistan, she argues for an
analysis which examines the complexities of local arrangements and their
interaction with transnational forces so that we may be able to better
recognize the conditions under which women live as well as all the players
who helped bring them about.

3. *Prof. Tayyab Mahmud* (Seattle University) will address the relationship
between modes of governance and the rise of fundamentalism in Pakistan.
Bringing four distinct phases between 1950 -2000 into focus, he would argue
that the "rise" of religious fundamentalism was orchestrated by a state
whose mode of governance rests upon lack of representation and denial of
federalism. Regional and global geo-politics furnished the broader context
within which this process unfolded. His talk will also incorporate the
symbolic and substantive role of women leaders in Pakistani politics. In
particular he will talk in a comparative mode about Fatima Jinnah (Jinnah's
sister who challenged Ayub Khan in the 1965 elections) and Benazir Bhutto.

4. *Brahmy Poologasingham* (Attorney, Dorsey & Whitney, and Human Rights
Commissioner, Seattle) will give an overview of the human rights violations
in Sri Lanka as they relate to the terrorist activities and the government's
part in the ethnic Tamil/Singhala conflict.  Specifically as it pertains to
women, she will be talking about the cycle of violence the conflict has
created as well as the unique position women have within the terrorist
organization (LTTE) and their contribution to the peace keeping process.

5. *Prof. Meenakshi Rishi* (Seattle University) will focus on issues of
Grassroots governance in India, Iconic political persona, Women in Business,
and Fundamentalism in India


This Panel is being hosted as part of AAINA, a South Asian Women Focus that
combines panel discussion, independent films, visual and performance art,
Yoni Ki Baat and Survivor stories. For complete details, please visit:

*www.tasveer.org* <http://www.tasveer.org/>

*http://www.tasveer.org/newsletters/* <http://www.tasveer.org/newsletters/>


-- 
Keith Snodgrass
Associate Director and Outreach Coordinator
South Asia Center
Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
University of Washington
w: http://jsis.washington.edu/soasia/
p:206.543.4800
f: 206.685.0668
e: snodgras at u.washington.edu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/soasiastudents/attachments/20080327/3647c301/attachment.htm