Rate My Professor Huma Ahmed-Ghosh

Huma Ahmed-Ghosh, Professor Emerita in Women's Studies at San Diego State University, has made significant contributions to the field of Social Science through her academic career spanning over two decades at SDSU. Joining the university in 1994 as a Lecturer in Women’s Studies, Asian Studies, and Anthropology, she advanced through the ranks to Assistant Professor (1999-2005), Associate Professor (2005-2009), Professor (2016-present), and served as Department Chair from 2011 to 2016. Prior to her full-time role at SDSU, she held an Endowed Chair in Women’s Studies at Brooklyn College (2009-2010), worked as a Social Science Consultant for the World Bank’s Division of Agriculture and Development in Asia (1991-1992), and served on the United Nations Commission for Social Policy and Welfare’s Technical Task Force on Ageing (1999-2003). Ahmed-Ghosh holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Syracuse University (1990), M.Phil. and M.A. in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a B.A. (Honors) in Economics from the University of Delhi. She also completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the East-West Center, Hawaii (1990-1991).

Her research interests center on women in Afghanistan, Muslim immigrant women in the USA, Islam and feminism, as well as gendered ageing, widowhood, and domestic violence in India. Ahmed-Ghosh has published extensively, including editing two volumes published by SUNY Press: Asian Muslim Women: Globalization and Local Realities (2015) and Contesting Feminisms: Gender and Islam in Asia (2015). Notable peer-reviewed articles include “A History of Women in Afghanistan: Lessons Learnt for the Future” (Journal of International Women’s Studies, 2003), “Voices of Afghan Women: Women’s Rights, Religion and Culture” (International Feminist Journal of Politics, 2006), and “Dilemmas of Islamic and Secular Feminists and Feminisms” (Journal of International Women’s Studies, 2008). She has guest-edited special issues for the Journal of International Women’s Studies (2009) and Journal of Lesbian Studies (2012). Among her accolades are the SDSU Alumni Award for Exceptional Service, Teaching, and Research (2017), SDSU Diversity Award (2016), induction into the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame (2023), Fulbright Fellowship to India (2018-2019), and KPBS Local Hero Award (2016). As Co-Director of the Bread and Roses: Center for Feminist Research and Activism, and on advisory boards for the Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies and Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, she has influenced academic programs and community activism, including co-founding an organization providing literacy training to Afghan refugees in San Diego.