How is gender discourse shaped in madrasa spaces?
Mir Hojaifa Al Mamduh led the 26 April চা-চক্র with a reflective discussion on evolving perceptions of gender among Qawmi madrasa students in Bangladesh. Drawing on qualitative interviews and his own reflexive experiences, he challenged the assumption that understandings of gender in these spaces are rigid or uniform. He showed how students interpret religious ideas through family backgrounds, lived realities, and encounters with the broader social world, where women are more visible in education, work, and public life. These encounters, he noted, often create tensions, questions, and diverse new perspectives.
Mir Hojaifa Al Mamduh is a Researcher at Drik, working on public interest journalism and structural biases in news reporting. His research explores Islamic thought and practice in South Asia, identity politics, and religious cultural worlds. He is the author of Bharotborsher Madrasa.
