Conference Report
To celebrate the life and work of Late Simeen Mahmud, who dedicated her life to generating systematic and rigorous knowledge on women’s empowerment issues, a three-day-long conference of exciting research and inspired thinking to celebrate the life and work of Simeen Mahmud. The event intended to bring together researchers who have worked with Simeen Mahmud as well as those who work on similar issues, as a gesture of remembrance and respect for her.
The conference titled “Knowledge, Power and Social Change: Conference Honouring Simeen Mahmud“, was inaugurated on the 7th of January, 2020. It was organized by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University, with sponsorship from BRAC, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Gender and Adolescence Global Evidence (GAGE) Program led by ODI.
Simeen Mahmud was an accomplished researcher, working on issues of women’s empowerment, women’s work and labour force participation, and gender norms in Bangladesh. She played a crucial role in shaping the gender and social transformation research agenda of BIGD. Simeen was a prolific writer and a mentor, a colleague, a friend, a sister and a role model for many. During her long career, she worked with people across the globe – many of whom joined the conference titled “Knowledge, Power and Social Change: Conference Honoring Simeen Mahmud” to present the issues they worked on together and pay tribute to her.
Eminent researchers such as Dr Sajeda Amin, Dr Hossain Zillur, Dr Rehman Sobhan, Dr Naila Kabeer, and Simeen Mahmud’s husband and lifelong companion, Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud enlightened the audience by shedding light on the colourful life of this silent warrior. Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director of BIGD was also present at the event.