THE SUCCESS STORY OF The 6th World Conference on Women’s Studies (WCWS 2020)
The 6th World Conference on Women’s Studies (WCWS 2020) was successfully held on 27-28 July 2020 with the collaboration of Asian-african Association for Women, Gender and Sexuality (AAAWGS), Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan, Bridgewater State University, USA, Center for Multidisciplinary Research, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Sri Jayewardenepure, Sri Lanka as hosting partners, Nepal Center for Contemporary Research (NCCR), Nepal, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei, The Research Centre of Communication for Development Knowledge Management, Thailand, NOIDA International University, India as academic partners to the Conference. The Conference also had strategic partners Women’s International Foundation (WFO), Sri Lanka and Room to Read as well as media coverage. WCWS 2020 online conference welcomed more than 65+participants from more than 20 countries for an online gathering of grand success. The Conference chaired by Prof. Diana Fox, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Anthropology, Journal of International Women’s Studies, Bridgewater State University, USA under the theme “Overcoming Women Subordination: Socialization Law, and Structural Changes”.
The conference discussed the current global health crisis making a clear spotlight on societies’ many structural inequalities rooted in socio-cultural, political, legal and economic systems, which create inhumane conditions of violence, food, water and hygiene insecurity, and ecological destruction impacting the most vulnerable. Feminist, gendered policy responses and the problems were addressed during the two-day online conference by recognized key persons in the field. By sharing research work offered the opportunity not only to be part of a global Women’s Studies community, but also advanced conference participants careers during a period when so much is on hold. Moreover, TIIKM ensured all conference participants received the full benefits of the Conference through the advanced online platform.
KEYNOTE FORUM
WCWS 2020 keynote forum was represented by inspirational as well as iconic speakers in the women’s studies field. It was first represented by Ms. Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala, First Sri Lankan to Summit Mount Everest, Gender Specialist & Feminist Activist, Sri Lanka, titled “The Personal is Political: A Feminist Perspective on Climbing Everest” and secondly by Dr. Bishnu Maya Pariyar. Social Entrepreneur, Award-Winning Scholar, Nepal, titled “Empowering Dalit and Marginalized Women through Social Change”. The online Keynote forum was a very interactive session with a keynote discussion with the participants.
Resource Persons
DIANA J. FOX, PHD
| CONFERENCE CO-CHAIR |
PROF. KAMALA LIYANGE
| CONFERENCE CO-CHAIR |
Emeritus Professor,
University of Peradeniya,
Sri Lanka.
DR. SANDYA HEWAMANNE
| KEYNOTE SPEAKER |
Professor, Department of Sociology,
University of Essex, United Kingdom
Director-IMPACT Global Work,
Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh
Fellow, Independent Social Research Foundation, Netherlands (2020-21)
MALIEKA FARAH DEEBA MALIK
| STORYTELLER |
Senior Assistant Professor Law/Head of Department,
LL.M in International Economic Law (Warwick),
Bahria University,
Pakistan.
MICHELLE MUELLER
| STORYTELLER |
Academic Year Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Religious Studies,
Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA,
USA.
NOORAINI YOUP
| STORYTELLER |
Director/Senior Lecturer
Open University Malaysia
Taiping Learning Center
Malaysia.
DR. ABIGAIL O. AKANDE
| STORYTELLER |
Assistant Professor – Rehabilitation & Human Services
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
United States.
Panel Discussion On “When Women Advance, So Does Society: Returns on Investments for Sri Lanka”
WCWS 2020 consisted of a panel discussion to focus on Women’s Empowerment and Returns on Investments (ROI). The panel was moderated by Dr. Sulochana Segera, Founder/Chairperson, Women in Management, Sri Lanka. The panel discussion, featured successful, professional Sri Lankan women leaders and activists, explored how women’s empowerment constitutes a Return on Investment both in the present and in the long term for Sri Lankan society. The goal was to facilitate discussion, debate, and concrete solutions to empower Sri Lankan Women. The panelists included:
Dr. Sulochana Segera
MODERATOR
Founder/Chairperson
Women in Management
Sri Lanka
Ms. Roshanie Jayasunedera
PANELIST
Executive Vice President of John Keells Holdings PLC
Chief Marketing Officer of Property Group, Sri Lanka
Ms. Shehara Jayawardena
PANELIST
Group Joint Managing Director
McLarens Group, Sri Lanka
Mr. Preethi Jayawardena
PANELIST
Deputy Chairman
Commercial Bank
Sri Lanka
DR. NAOKI SUZUKI
| PLENARY SPEAKER |
Associate Professor Department of Health and Sport Science Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan. (With Diana Fox (Fox, D.,), Bridgewater State University, USA)
SATOKO ITANI
| PLENARY SPEAKER |
Department of American and British Cultural Studies Kansai University
Japan.
The storytelling session On “The Representation of Women in State Structures: Success Stories from Nepal”
Prof. Yamuna Ghale
MODERATOR
Natural Resource Management, Food Security / Agriculture, Gender Expert,
Nepal
Workshop On “Implicit Islamophobia And Unconscious Bias: Breaking Chains, Building Bridges”
Dr. Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi
MODERATOR
Psychology Professor
Houston Community College
USA
Publication Workshop
Through the publication workshop, it was intended to disseminate knowledge on writing scientific papers and scholarly publications to assist future researchers. This interactive online workshop was moderated by the Conference Chair Prof. Diana J. Fox, Bridgewater State University, USA. The Perspective of the publication workshop was to assist researchers who write full papers with the aim of publishing in a reputable journal or in a reputable proceeding. Through this publication workshop, the facilitator was able to disseminate knowledge on writing scientific papers and scholarly publications for future researchers. All conference participants were delighted and graced by this opportunity.
Prof. Diana J. Fox
MODERATOR
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE MEMBERS
- Christine Gibson, Flinders University, Australia
- Madhavi Venkatesan, Northeastern University, USA
- Shafi Humaira, Mufti Law Associates Pakistan, Pakistan
- Jabbar Al-Obaidi, Bridgewater State University, USA
- Abhishek Mishra, Institute of Management Studies, India
- Deborah Nemko, Bridgewater State University, USA
- Shivani Singh, Banaras Hindu University, India
- Bonita Hampton, SUNY Oswego, USA
- Aradhana Vaidya, SGB Amravati University, India
- Prof. Dr. Eren Evin Kılıçkaya Boğ, Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Turkey
- Grace Wamue-Ngare, Kenyatta University, Kenya
- Dr Hannah Ho, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
- Ramzan Shahid, University of Gujrat, Pakistan
- Dr Siti Mazidah Mohamad, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
- Rachana Pandey, Vasanta College for Women, India
- P. Acharya, Nepal Centre of Contemporary Research (NCCR), Nepal
- Antonia Navarro Tejero, University of Cordoba, Spain
- Dr Nazlida Muhamad, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
- Sumi Daa-dhora, Assam University Diphu Campus, India
- Jibran Hussain, University Utara Malaysia , Malaysia
- P. Pretheeba, Eastern University, Sri Lanka
- Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain, University of Malaya, Malaysia
- Iyad Eid, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia
- Shewli Kumar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India
- Nurazzura Bt Mohamad Diah, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia
- Rahat Zubair Malik, Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan
- Asbah Binti Razali, University of Malaya, Malaysia
- Namita Singh Malik, Galgotias University, India
- Welyne Jeffrey Jehom, University of Malaya, Malaysia
- Dr Hjh Sharifah Nurulhuda Alkaff, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
- Prof. Zineb El Andaloussi, National School of Commerce and Management of Tangier, Morocco
- Seema Singh, University of Delhi, India
- Khairunnisa Ibrahim, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
- Dr Bharti Chhibber, University of Delhi, India
- Dr Geeta Kubsad, Pravin Gandhi College of Law, India
- Shyamkiran Kaur, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Instittute of Technology, India
- Sandya Hewamanne , University of Essex, United Kindom
- Prof. Priya Grover, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), India
- Atika Lohani, University of Sargodha, Pakistan
- Jayum Jawan, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
- Prof. Meredian Alam, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
- Prof. Smita Gupta, Delhi Metropolitan Education, India
- Mohamed Mohideen Nayeem, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia
TECHNICAL SESSIONS OF WCWS 2020
WCWS 2020 comprised of eighteen (18) technical sessions. These online technical sessions were under the below themes.
- Economic and Financial Conditions of Women
- Caste Hierarchy and Transformation
- Consciousness Raising
- Legal Remedies, Implementing Law
- Challenging Male Dominance and Toxic Masculinity
- Sexual Violence, Trafficking and Prostitution
- Gender Equality and Educational Systems
- Women’s Human Rights and Legal Remedies
- Women in Politics and Public Administration
- Women, Media and Technology, Women Empowerment and Social Change
- Women’s Health, Climate Change and Inequality
- Religion, Spirituality and Beliefs
- Inheritance Rights
Session Chairs
- Roshan Ara, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, J&K, India
- Asma Khalid, Allama Iqbal Open University, Pakistan
- Tamali Neogi, Gushkara College(affiliated to the University of Burdwan), India
- Hind Elhinnawy, Nottingham Trent University, UK
- Bhushan Sharma, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, J&K-India
- Naoki Suzuki, Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan
- Ramesh Singisala , Department of Humanities & Social sciences GNITC,India
- Aparna N, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India
- Sharifah Alkaff, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
- Rafidah Abd Karim, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
- Kamolrat Intaratat, STOU, Thailand
- Vulli Dhanaraju, Assam University (Central University), Diphu Campus, India
- Nupur Ray, University of Delhi, India
- Vijay P Singh, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, India
Evaluation Panel Members
- Zehra Habib, Institute of Business Management, Pakistan
- Anita Singh, Banaras Hindu University, India
- S.P. Srimathi, Indian Institution of Psychology and Research (IIPR), India
- Geeta Kubsad, Pravin Gandhi College of Law, India
- Prof. Smita Gupta, Delhi Metropolitan Education, India
- Manjari Shukla, Vasanta College for Women, India
- Hema. P, Shrimathi Devkunvar Nanalal Bhatt Vaishnav College For Women, India
- Shyamkiran Kaur, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, India
- Rahat Zubair Malik, Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan
- Aradhana G. Vaidya, SGB Amravati University, India
- Divya Saksena, IMS Unison University, India.
- Malieka Farah Deeba Malik, Bahria University Islamabad, Pakistan
- Preeti Puri, National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, Indiaa
REVIEWING COMMITTEE OF WCWS 2022
- Professor Dr. Arun Kumar Goswami, Jagannath University, Bangladesh
- Christine Gibson, Flinders University, Australia
- Prof. Zineb El Andaloussi, National School of Commerce and Management of Tangier, Morocco
- Rahat Zubair Malik, Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan
- Dr Geeta Kubsad, Pravin Gandhi College of Law, India
- Dr Ramzan Shahid, University of Gujrat, India
- Aradhana Vaidya, SGB Amravati University, India
- Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain, University of Malaya, Malaysia
- Shyamkiran Kaur, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Instittute of Technology, India
- Shantharuby Buvanendra, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Bhushan Sharma, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India
- Bhavana Raj, Institute of Public Enterprise, India
- Kiconco Milliam, Kyambogo University, Uganda
- Prof. Katherine Fobear, California State University, Fresno
- Aparna Srivastava, Noida International University, India
- Naoki Suzuki (Associate Professor), Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan
- Sumi Daa-dhora, Assam University Diphu Campus, India
- Sandya Hewamanne, University of Essex, United Kindom
- L. David Lal, Indian Institute of Information Technology Guwahati, India
- Thuong Mac Thi Hoai, Hanoi Law University, Vietnam
PARTNERS OF WCWS 2020
