About the Department of Women and Gender Studies

The Department of Women and Gender Studies (DWGS), University of Dhaka is an interdisciplinary programme that encourages the development of critical perspectives on gender issues in both intellectual and activist contexts. The Department has grown since 2000 when it was formally instituted, in terms of its course offerings, faculty involvement, and visibility on campus in the University of Dhaka. As one of the pioneer departments to offer courses under a semester system, the Department already has gained a commendable position in the Faculty of Social Sciences in terms of the quality of student intake, the timely holding of classes and examinations and offering quality knowledge on contemporary gender issues. Besides curricular activities, the Department is also prolifically engaged in different research projects, seminars, lecture series, conferences, networking and other co-curricular activities. Within a short span of its establishment, the Department managed to run a five long year multifaceted collaborative project (from 2005-2009) with the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands financially supported by Royal Netherlands Embassy. Our intellectual goal in and out of the classroom is to transform traditional ways of knowing by challenging male supremacy as the codifier of knowledge. This department offers interdisciplinary perspectives on the complex role gender plays in shaping the world around us. It enables students to understand how gender impacts their everyday lives as well as their roles in society, institutions, and practices both locally and globally. The Department attempts to focus on constantly changing directions of feminism and explore the social dynamics of change in gender relations in its curriculum and researches done by faculty members. 

The department has already published a good number of books and working papers. Within a short span of its establishment, the department managed to run a five long year multifaceted collaborative project (from 2005-2009) with the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), the Netherlands with funding support from Royal Netherlands Embassy. A specialized library containing a rich collection of books, periodicals and visual materials on gender-related areas have been set up by the Department. More than 5500 excellent entries of books and journals have already been collected. The air-conditioned library has a capacity for 40 readers at a time. A librarian is always there to assist. The computer laboratory of the department is well equipped with 10 computers, 1 photocopy machine and 2 Multimedia projectors for the students and faculty. The students and faculty of the department enjoy fiber optics broadband Internet and Wi-Fi facilities with an Independent domain.