UP | uncultured project

Dr. Kathy Ward (University of Southern Illinois – Carbondale) on the roof of the Nari Jibon Project along with those involved with (and helped by) the project.

In this blog, I often mention Dr. Jeffrey Sachs. He was the inspiration that led me to start this project. But, as fate would have it, there has also been another brilliant American professor whose been an inspiration to me since I first heard of her. Her name is Dr. Kathy Ward and she’s a sociology professor at the University of Southern Illinois in Carbondale. I don’t talk about her often enough because… well… a grad student praising one of their favorite professors is just cliché now isn’t it?

But the fact of the matter is that there is a lot to laud about the work Dr. Ward has done here in Bangladesh through her non-profit called the Nari Jibon Project. And while more PR-savvy people in Dhaka seem to be able to market themselves as “the unsung hero of Dhaka” – I got a chance to meet the real McCoy.

All that and more after the jump.

Continue reading ‘What Would Kathy Do?’

Who is Benazir Bhutto and why is she someone who should be remembered even if you’ve never heard of her before? She was a politician and former Prime Minister of Pakistan. But more importantly, she was the first female leader of a Muslim country. She didn’t walk around in a burqa, cover her face, or get bullied/wiped/stoned by any man. In many respects, she was a catalyst for the emergence of progressive Muslim countries which were democratic, progressive, and respectful of both women and female leadership.

Now she’s dead.

And I can’t help but think that those who killed her did so because they hate democracy, progress, and don’t want to respect women or see another female as a leader of a Muslim country ever again.