Pioneering Conversations on Women and Divinity: Habib University hosts inaugural Lecture for Lady Fatima Endowed Faculty Chair – The First of its Kind in the World

In a country like Pakistan where a systemic erasure of women is perpetuated in every sphere, there is a global need to raise awareness of women’s roles in society. Despite the volume of research published, the field of women and gender studies still remains vastly limited. The theme of women and divinity specifically – the feminine aspects of the divine, as well as women’s role in religion – remains vastly underserved, to the detriment of religion and society as a whole.

Habib University, Pakistan’s first dedicated liberal arts and sciences institution, through its mission and vision of initiating conversations on pressing issues plaguing the planet, is taking the bold initiative to bring the neglected subject of the role of women and femininity in religion to light.

The world’s first Lady Fatima Chair in Women & Divinity in Women and Divinity, endowed by Abbas D. Habib family is a visionary intellectual investment in advancing society as it deepens and elevates the stature of women and the nurturing potential of religion. This remarkable intellectual endowment was made by Habib University’s donors committed to the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge that improves society. It benefits the scholarly community at Habib University through the prestigious title awarded to the endowed faculty chair.

The Lady Fatima Endowed Faculty Chair in Women and Divinity at Habib University is a key advancement in the study of the status of women, their roles in religious traditions that reflects a commitment to academic excellence, interfaith dialogue, and gender equality.

It is also a crucial step towards highlighting the status of women in cultural, societal, and religious narratives. Establishing the world’s first Chair in Women and Divinity is transformational to the field, benefitting the academic scholar that is bestowed with the title. Named after the esteemed Bibi Sayeda Zahra (AS) who played a key role in the Prophet (PBUH)’s legacy, it seeks to honor the contributions of women such as Sayeda Zahra (AS) and Bibi Zainab (AS), revitalizing their significance in our collective consciousness that is constantly being overshadowed by the modern dominance of hyper-masculinist narratives.

On 5^th September 2024, Habib University hosted its inaugural lecture for the Lady Fatima Endowed Faculty Chair Lecture Series featuring Dr Larisa Jasarevic, an independent scholar from Bosnia-Herzegovina & acknowledging the generosity of Abbas D. Habib family in the creation of the endowed chair. The lecture delivered by Dr Larisa Jasarevic at Habib University was titled, Thinking on the Tattered Planet: Ecostress, Religion, and the Gender Quarrel. Dr Jasarevic brought an intricate, experiential and scientific perspective to climate ecology, with an attempt to bridge critical (eco) thinking with insights from Islamic metaphysics. The talk sought to anticipate themes in the Lady Fatima Endowed Faculty Chair in Women and Divinity Lecture series by generally asking, what thinking can we aspire to cultivate on our tattered planet? The discussion was informed by her observations on climate change, Prophetic lessons on sustainable living, and memories of Hazrat Bibi Fatima (AS).

Founding President, Wasif Rizvi remarked, “An endowed faculty chair with such a unique perspective shows strong resonance with Habib University’s distinct mission of crafting a thoughtful education experience for our students from all backgrounds.”

Dr Larisa Jasarevic said, “With the Lady Fatima Chair in place, how do we respond? What can religion, specifically Islam, offer at a time when the planet is rapidly being undone? Islam, with its rich teachings, has the capacity to redefine living, a religion with “constant renewal” as its baseline. Islam ought to help us critically reinterpret sustainable living inspirations.”

In her thoughts on Habib University, Dr Jasarevic shared, “Commitment to critical postcolonial studies is, by now, a default stance in global academia, but Habib University puts that commitment boldly to work in ways that are seldom practised.

How could I not admire that? I congratulate you on the establishment of the Lady Fatima Endowed Chair in Women and Divinity. I anticipate the creative and inspired thinking that can happen in the match of “feminine” and “divine” as cornerstones of a research agenda and a studies program. These sound to me like codewords for breaking out of the many enclosures in which studies of religion, and studies of Islam in particular, have been bogged down.”

She also said, “According to one study hard sciences, technical sciences, and natural sciences attracted 770% more funding for climate research worldwide than humanities and social sciences. And yet one of the most daunting open questions is how to put the growing knowledge of climate change to good use? How to act on it? And acting at the very least presumes major changes in thinking, doing, spending, and valuing -in short major changes in the modern ways of being and living. Now all these ways can only be grasped, and figured out with the help of social sciences and humanities scholars.”

She reflected, “The stories of the poverty of the Ahl al-Bayt, retold by the Ummah over centuries, are, in my view, teaching lessons on sustainable living. I’ve come to realize that I am relearning the prophetic lessons in our tattered world.”

Founding President, Wasif Rizvi remarked, “An endowed faculty chair with such unique perspective shows strong resonance with Habib University’s distinct mission of crafting a thoughtful education experience for our students from all backgrounds.”

The event was attended by students, faculty, members of the community as well as researchers and scholars from around the country and beyond. Prominent industry leaders such as Zeelaf Munir, CEO of English Biscuit Manufacturer, and Zehra Hassan, Family Office Manager at House of Habib also graced the event along with donors of Habib University such as Shahbaz Yasin Malik, President and CEO Hilton Pharma.