By Dr Sujata Ganguly
My name is Sujata (which means ‘birth’ or ‘origin’) and I am from India. My mother wanted this name for her firstborn, but my paternal grandfather had the privilege to name his first granddaughter in the family. After I was born, my mother decided that I would be her ‘Sujata’. She had some childhood memories with this name and always wanted to have a ‘Sujata’ of her own. So here I am! In this blog, I would love to bring two aspects of my life to the reader — firstly my childhood and the other my journey to becoming a feminist.
My childhood
Since the age of three, I have been asthmatic. It was so severe that my parents were doubtful whether I would be able to even finish my 10th grade because I missed some of my classes. I was not allowed to play with friends because that might make me sick. My mother would take me for exams, wait till I finished and bring me back home. My parents spent sleepless nights comforting me during severe asthma attacks. I just remember visiting countless numbers of doctors and temples.
My health started improving with age. I was good at studying so rather than playing and getting sick, I would read books and study — thanks to my father for visiting bookshops in an era before online shopping!
I’ve always wanted to share this story on a public platform to let people know why I am ‘Sujata Ganguly’ even after my marriage. I chose to keep my last name to salute my parents for all their love and hard work. They inspired me to dream big against all odds.
My journey as a feminist
When I selected my PhD research area, little did I know that the topic would become my passion. I studied the lives of left-behind-wives whose husband had out-migrated. I never had any formal training on gender studies, but I started reading and realised that what women do is generally just the tip of the iceberg of androcentrism. Androcentrism is so deep — deeply rooted across cultures, language and norms. And yet, androcentrism varies across cultures in the way it manifests, and in the way it may conflict with one’s own experience. For example, my experience as a female may vary when I am attending a meeting with all men compared to all women or when interacting with male friends.
Till recently, I wasn’t sure whether I was a feminist or not. Now I know, I am. What made me feel that I am a feminist? It’s the influence of another feminist — my mentor who lifted me up and made me realise that I am ‘Sujata’. This was getting blurred due to some hiccups which everyone experiences in their lifetime. To me feminism is more about how we expect the world around us to be. It is about lifting other women and making them realise their worth because ‘all lives matter’. Gender and feminist approaches don’t aim to make men and women stand against each other but aims to embrace each’s shortcomings and walk together leaving no one behind.
Last but not least, this blog would be incomplete without mentioning my husband to whom I will always be indebted — of course he is a feminist!
Dr Sujata Ganguly is a Gender Research Specialist with more than seven years of experience. She did her MPhil and PhD in Population Studies from International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India. She has been intensively involved in gender research, communication research and monitoring, evaluation and learning activities in the field of migration, agriculture, and maternal and child health.
Dr Ganguly’s research publications include the changes in participation of women in rice value chains and its implications for control over decision-making, guide to user testing communication materials, evaluation of India’s soil health card from users’ perspectives, husbands’ out-migration and familial support for the left-behind wives from rural India. Dr. Ganguly speaks English, Hindi, Marathi and Bengali.
Includovate is a feminist research incubator that “walks the talk”. Includovate is an Australian social enterprise consisting of a consulting firm and research incubator that designs solutions for gender equality and social inclusion. Its mission is to incubate transformative and inclusive solutions for measuring, studying, and changing discriminatory norms that lead to poverty, inequality, and injustice. To know more about us at Includovate, follow our social media: @includovate, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.