Shamita Das Dasgupta (
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
: শমীতা দাশ দাশগুপ্ত; born 1949) is an Asian Indian scholar and
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
. A social activist since early 1970s, she co-founded
Manavi in 1985.
It is the first organization of its kind that focuses on
violence
Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...
against South Asian women in the United States. A part-time teacher and full-time community worker, she has written extensively in the areas of
ethnicity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
,
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
,
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
, and
violence against women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...
. Her books include: ''A Patchwork Shawl: Chronicles of South Asian Women in America'', ''Body Evidence: Intimate Violence Against South Asian Women in America'', ''Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy in India: Outsourcing Life'' and ''Mothers for Sale: Women in Kolkata’s Sex Trade''.
Background
Married at an early age, she moved to the US at the age of 19. She did her undergraduate and graduate studies at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
and received her PhD in
developmental psychology
Developmental psychology is the science, scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult deve ...
. She moved to New Jersey and taught at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
for several years. Her deep interest in issues relating to
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
led her to head a women’s agency in Pennsylvania. From her association with various women’s organizations, she realized that South Asian women were generally ignored by the mainstream domestic violence organizations, so she decided to establish an organization that would focus on their unique issues. She co-founded
Manavi, an organization for South Asian women, in New Jersey with five other women.
Activism and academia
Although, Shamita describes herself as a community worker, she is one of the few community workers who have established themselves as an academic through research and teaching. She has written numerous articles on south Asian women’s issues and collaborated with her physician daughter,
Sayantani DasGupta, on mother-daughter experiences. Currently she is an adjunct faculty member at the
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
. She serves on the editorial board of ''Violence against Women'' journal.
Sage Journal
Recipient of many awards including the Bannerman Fellowship,
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
References
Further reading
*
External links
The Frontline Cover story: ''The voice of silence''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasgupta, Shamita
American activists
Indian emigrants to the United States
Scholars from Kolkata
Ohio State University Graduate School alumni
1949 births
Living people
American people of Bengali descent
Women writers from West Bengal
Writers from Kolkata
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American women writers
American women non-fiction writers