Dr. Jinat Hossain

I am Post-doctoral Researcher in Critical Sustainability Studies, funded by Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship. My research interest covers multi-disciplinary issues connected to gender and feminist theories. Some of the themes I am interested in are- feminist political ecology, climate change and development in the Global South, feminist political economy of work, land and (transnational) labor, gendered policies and governance and migration and mobility. I am a qualitative researcher by training, and my geographical focus is on South Asia, prominently Bangladesh.

My PhD research focuses on the role of gender and social innovation in understanding sustainable adaptation in the rural coastal territory of Bangladesh. In my project, I have unfolded the complex interconnection among gender, development, and climate change adaptation dynamics in rural coastal Bangladesh by examining two case studies in the Southern Bangladesh.

My academic background has a blend of gender studies, development studies, and later human and cultural geography. I have started my academic career by teaching in different Universities in Bangladesh. I currently hold a position of Assistant Professor (study leave) at Noakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh. I have also involved in teaching assistant and guest lecturer in Belgium. Besides, I have co-designed and coordinated action research projects on construction of masculinity and gender-based violence in the rural Bangladesh with my colleagues in Centre for Men and Masculinities Studies in Bangladesh. I have  also contributed to different science outreach activities. I am also currently coordinating South Asian Sub-group of EnJust Network and I am a research team member of Climate resilience Salons. In addition to research, I am a freelance fiction writer, theatre artist and visual content creator.

Current project:

Local crisis, global demand: The climate change adaptation, gender and shrimp cultivation in the Sundarbans delta of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is known as a disaster-prone country in South Asia, which is very much exposed to the severe threats of climate change. Often defined as one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world, the South-west coastal Bangladesh possesses a complex and unique socio-ecological system with the interaction of the Bay of Bengal and the Sundarbans Forest. Sharing a prospective role by export earnings since the early 1980s, shrimp farming in the Sundarbans delta was identified and promoted as a major adaptation strategy in the coastal landscape by the government, NGO and donor community. The research aims to understand the multi-level (global, national, rural coastal) governance, process and politics of the global supply chain of aqua culture. Within the theorization of feminist political economy, climate change adaptation, de-colonial development and justice in sustainability transitions, the specific objective is to see the implications of aqua culture for decent work and how those implications are embedded in the broader socio-ecological and political settings. This explorative research includes secondary data analysis, analysis of previously collected PhD data and key informant interviews.  Shrimp farming was often viewed and promoted as an important means of poverty reduction, employment generation and community progress in the coastal area of Bangladesh. However, shrimp farming with an expansion of crab cultivation since 2010 causes both environmental crisis and social injustice on the ground.

Research Interests:

• Sustainable climate change adaptation
• Feminist political ecology
• Feminist political economy of work
• Migration and mobility justice
• Land and inheritance right
• Gendered policy and governance