Pleasure, Prohibition and Pretense - The Troubles Of Discussing Women's Sexual Rights In Bangladesh

The question of women–a category that is inclusive and fluid of self determined identity process–in relation to sexuality is perhaps the most contentious topic in the context of Bangladesh. Within mainstream sociological discussions, or even within LGBTQI+ spaces, women’s right to express and explore their own sexuality and desire remains underdiscussed, ignored, and even prohibited in the context of modern Bangladesh.

This session will be a conversation led by research and stories drawn from Karim’s PhD thesis and subsequent publications on the topics of heteronormativity and the politics of sexual rights within Bangladesh (Karim 2004, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020). Together, participants will explore what makes the the topic of women’s sexualities, sexual rights and assertion of sexual agency not only difficult but also troublesome in our contemporary socio-political environment–and how the inability to have this conversation affects us all.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Karim is a feminist academic and researcher from Bangladesh. She completed her PhD at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague, The Netherlands in 2012, specializing in Women, Gender and Development with focus on sexualities. Karim had her first MA degree in English Language and Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India; and her second MA from University of Warwick, UK, in Gender and International Development. Dr. Karim’s career is a combination of development work, academia and activism. In recent years she worked at multiple academic and development institutions in the area of gender and sexual and reproductive health and rights, including the Institute of Educational Development of BRAC University (Bangladesh), the ISS, and Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands, Western University, Canada. She is currently working at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Karim’s research areas include gender and sexuality, sexual and reproductive health rights, transnational feminism, intersectionality, gender and development issues. Karim is a passionate advocate for scholar activism and academic freedom.

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