Events

Watson Events

Intersectionality and Ishq: Exploring Ways to Reconcile Muslim Identities in Subcontinental Activism

Thursday, April 20, 2023

12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Smith-Buonanno Hall (Room 106), 95 Cushing Street or request virtual access to the event.

Food and refreshments will be served.

The Pakistani Students Association @ Brown (PSAB) invites you to participate in a panel with esteemed activists from across South Asia in “Intersectionality and Ishq: Exploring Ways to Reconcile Muslim Identities in Subcontinental Activism”, which will be an exploration of pressing concerns facing Muslim activists in the South Asian Subcontinent today. Themes will include sustainability in social movements, tackling systemic issues in particularly sensitive cultural landscapes, and how intersectionality plays a role in our conceptions of self and of activism.

Please fill out the interest form to receive updates about the event.

Student Events

Specifically, this talk is centered around the exploration of queer and gender-rights activism in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Discourse around, and efforts to promote, sustainability in queer and gender-activism spaces are often overlooked due to inconsistent support from political actors and/or risks perpetuated by religious extremist figures fueling pushback and propaganda. This panel talk will be an opportunity to explore the factors hindering, or facilitating, the growth of queer and transgender-affirming spaces and cultures in Pakistan and Bangladesh, while trying to imagine ishq as a new cultural lens, language, and praxis for advocating for the acceptance of queerness in predominantly Muslim societies. We would like to acknowledge that this event is only possible with the collaboration and support of centers like the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and organizations like the South Asian Students Association and Zenaan Khaana in Pakistan.