Contemporary Feminist Thought

WGS 4123/5123
Student Information Sheet

Name: Rafia Mallick

Hometown: Pakistan

Major: Sociology

Classification:

Why are you taking this course:

Gender is one of my comprehensive are in my PhD program. I have low background in

Sociological theory, especially feminist theory. The purpose of taking this course is to develop a
better understanding of feminism and its contemporary theories.

Professional aspirations:

I come from a third world country where violence against women is very common. My aim in
life is to do some work in the field to make lives of these women better. I want to see myself
delivering a speech in UN 5 years from now, talking about how important it is to find ways to
end violence against women in South east Asia.

Proudest accomplishment:

I have many accomplishments I am proud of, but the one I took to support my family back in my
college years is the one I am most proud of. Since my family was going through a major
financial crisis at that time, I along with my parents developed a non-traditional school from pre-
school to high school back home. I was a full time undergraduate student and I worked hard to
start this initiative and followed the steps and ideas of Maria Montessori and introduced it to
school system in Pakistan. I have seen so many students graduating in last 14 years and them
telling me later that their undergraduate or graduate teachers and deans asking them which
school did you go to since you have such strong character and exclusive academic performance.

What are some questions/concerns you have about feminism?

Feminism is more of western concept and is based off it. How can we relate and apply feminist
ideas to eastern countries like Pakistan and India?
Calling oneself a feminist gets you attention and funding to the NGOs. I sometimes feel that it
has become a way of gaining attention, especially in Asian countries. How do real feminists deal
with such issues?

What are your strengths?

My biggest strength is my social nature and making people around me comfortable. I feel that to
achieve my long term goal this will aid me a lot.

What are your goals for the course? What specifically do you want to think, feel, believe or do
differently after this course?

(Please note that you can aspire to a grade, but a grade is not a goal in and of itself)

I talk about human rights especially women rights a lot. But I always feel I lack the theoretical
standing. So sometimes my arguments are a little weak. My goal after this class is to develop
more understanding and be able to provide arguments in support of women who suffer in hands
of patriarchal culture.

How will you know that you have succeeded?

I am currently working on a research paper and collecting my own data. The research focus is the
effect of religion and religiosity on men and women in perceptions they hold about honor crimes.
While writing for the paper I feel I lack feminist theoretical framework, which is very necessary
to have. I expect that I will be able to easily develop it for this paper after this course.