Meet the experts and thought leaders who will be sharing their insights and expertise at our conference. Get ready for inspiring sessions from renowned speakers in the field.
Distinguished Professor Emerita in the Feminist Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), USA
Prof. Bettina Aptheker is a distinguished American feminist scholar, writer, educator, and political activist. She currently holds the title of Distinguished Professor Emerita in the Feminist Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), where she taught for over four decades. She is renowned for having developed and taught one of the largest and most influential introductory courses in feminist studies in the United States. She also served as the UC Presidential Co-Chair in Feminist Critical Race & Ethnic Studies.
Born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Fay Philippa Aptheker and Herbert Aptheker—a Marxist historian and prominent radical activist—Dr. Aptheker’s early life was steeped in political discourse and activism. She rose to national prominence in the 1960s as a young leader in the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), serving as a delegate at the 1964 founding convention of the W.E.B. DuBois Clubs in San Francisco and later joining the National Committee of the CPUSA. California party leader Dorothy Healey remembered her as “one of the liveliest of the young people who rose to prominence in the party in the 1960s.”
Dr. Aptheker earned her Master’s degree from San José State University, where she also taught African-American and Women’s Studies. She later completed her Ph.D. in the History of Consciousness program at UCSC in the early 1980s.
A committed scholar-activist, she played a pivotal role in several landmark movements: she co-led the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley (1964–1965), was active in the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, and helped lead the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis (1970–1972), organizing a transnational campaign for Davis’s release. She has also been a vocal and active supporter of LGBTQ+ rights.
In recognition of her lifelong commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion, Prof. Aptheker received the UCSC Ethos Award. Her personal journey—marked by her courageous coming out as a lesbian, her advocacy for gender and LGBTQ+ rights, and her efforts to challenge patriarchal norms—has further amplified her influence as a transformative figure in feminist thought.
She is also an accomplished author and co-founder of the Women’s Studies program at UCSC, which she later helped transition into the Feminist Studies Department. Throughout her career, Dr. Aptheker has remained committed to bridging academia and activism, mentoring generations of students and scholars in the pursuit of justice and equity.
Founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University , Qatar
Prof. Dr. Amal Al-Malki is a prominent Qatari scholar, educator, public speaker, and advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. In 2005, she made history by becoming the first Qatari professor appointed to an American university in Education City, Qatar, when she joined Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q).
Dr. Al-Malki currently serves as the Founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, a member of Qatar Foundation. Prior to this role, she was appointed by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, to establish and lead the Translation and Interpreting Institute as its Executive Director in 2011.
She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from SOAS, University of London, where she also earned a Master’s degree in English-Arabic Applied Linguistics and Translation. Upon earning her doctorate in 2003, she became the youngest Ph.D. holder in her field in Qatar. Dr. Al-Malki began her academic career at CMU-Q as an Assistant Professor after completing a teaching fellowship at the university’s main campus in Pittsburgh—an opportunity she embraced to prove her academic merit on a global stage.
Dr. Al-Malki is recognized as the first Qatari faculty member to teach at Education City and remained the only Qatari professor across Qatar Foundation’s partner universities for 11 years. She was promoted to Associate Professor at CMU-Q in 2013 and was granted a public service leave to lead the Translation and Interpreting Institute.
In 2012, she authored the groundbreaking book Arab Women in Arab News: Old Stereotypes and New Media (Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation and Bloomsbury Academic, UK), the first comprehensive study of media representations of Arab women. Her academic interests span postcolonial literature, theories of translation, Islamic feminism, and the negotiation of identity between East and West.
Throughout her career, Dr. Al-Malki has taught a wide range of courses, including writing composition, postcolonial literature, translation theory, and Islamic feminism. Her scholarly work and public engagement continue to shape discourse on gender, culture, and representation in the Arab world.
Professor of Literature and Gender at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia
Wening Udasmoro is Professor of Literature and Gender at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Indonesia. She received her PhD in Gender Studies from the University of Geneva, Switzerland in 2006. She obtained her Master’s degree in the same field from the same university. She is the Vice Rector of Education and Learning of UGM. She was the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences of UGM (2016-2021), the Vice Dean of Academic and Student Affairs at the same faculty (2012-2016) and the Associate Director of Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (2009-2012). Her main research interests are literature, gender issues, violence, identity politics, and critical discourse analysis.
Her recent articles include: Masculinities in Literary Works in Indonesia’s Post Conflict Ambon Island, in Kritika Kultura (2023), The Preservation of the Javanese Language in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, in Indonesian Journal of Geography (2023), Gendered Dynamics of Labour Force Participation in Insurgency and Ethno-Religious Conflict: The Cases of Aceh and Ambon in International Feminist Journal of Politics (2022), Indonesian Pencak Silat, a book chapter for UNESCO (2022), and The Transformation of Social Imaginary on Women Sexuality in Indonesian Literature from New Order to Reformasi Era in Journal of International Women Studies (2022).
Executive Director, GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation, Gurgaon, India
Govind Kelkar is a feminist scholar, PhD in Political Economy of China. She is the Executive Director, GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation, Gurgaon, India. She is a Professor at the Centre for Economics and Social Studies, Hyderabad; Visiting Professor, Council for Social Development and Institute for Human Development, New Delhi, India and was a Senior Adviser, Landesa, Seattle, USA (May 2013-March 2020). In her concurrent assignments, Professor Kelkar was the International Research Coordinator of ENERGIA International, The Netherlands and research lead on Gender and Energy at Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai. She is a Distinguished Adjunct Faculty of Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. Professor Kelkar has the position of Honorary Professor in Institute of Ethnology, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, China.
Former Dean of the Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities at the University of Mauritius, Mauritius
Prof. Satinder Prabhakar Ragobur, Sr Editor IIRF is a professional social worker with field experience in India and Mauritius and a long academic career spanning some forty- five years. Her academic career started with the University of Mauritius as lecturer in social studies and subsequently promoted as Associate Professor. She served as Dean of the Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities at the University of Mauritius. After her retirement from the University of Mauritius, she taught on part time basis and then moved to New Delhi and joined Amity University, Noida as Deputy Director of the Amity Institute of Social Sciences where she was instrumental in spearheading new courses and research degrees.
She has served as reviewer for the Journal on Families in Society and the Journal 0f Social Development (both journals are published in USA). She has supervised MPhil research as well as dissertations at graduate and post graduate program. She has presented conference papers and published in the domains of Reproductive Health, Gender, Ageing and child welfare. She has undertaken consultancy work for UNICEF, EU, UNIFEM, Small grant projects under the General Environment Fund and the Government of Mauritius relating to Children, Family Women, Poverty and Environment. She is currently serving as a free-lance consultant and trainer.
Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas, USA
Dr. Akiko Takeyama is a Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas. She currently serves as the President of the Association of Feminist Anthropology (2023–2025), a prominent subsection of the American Anthropological Association.
An interdisciplinary feminist scholar trained as a cultural anthropologist, Dr. Takeyama’s research explores the evolving dynamics of gender, sexuality, and class within the broader context of (neo)liberal globalization. Her scholarship offers detailed ethnographic insights into how social inequalities are sustained under the guise of individual choice, using Japan as a focal point to examine enduring questions related to patriarchal nation-building, capitalist economies, and liberal political ideologies.
Her critically acclaimed book, Staged Seduction: Selling Dreams in a Tokyo Host Club (Stanford University Press, 2016), was a finalist for the 2017 Michelle Rosaldo Book Prize awarded by the Association of Feminist Anthropology. Her influential article, “Involuntary Consent,” was published as a major feature with commentaries in Current Anthropology, the flagship journal in the field.
Dr. Takeyama’s research has been supported by several prestigious fellowships, including the Wenner-Gren Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship, the SSRC–Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship, and the Japan Foundation Research Fellowship. Under her leadership, the Center for East Asian Studies has secured multiple institutional grants, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI grant (2022–2026), totaling $2.1 million, as well as funding from the Korea Foundation and the Laurasian Institution, establishing the center as a designated National Resource Center.
Dr.Altyn Kapalova is the visionary founder of Central Asia’s Museum of Feminist and Queer Art, which promotes inclusivity and representation, providing space for underrepresented narratives within the region’s cultural landscape. Altyn’s anthropological research informs her own artistic vision, as she creates experimental works that seamlessly blend elements of art, science, and politics. Her work uplifts the voices of marginalized communities across Central Asia, and empowers them to participate in political discourse.
Altyn Kapalova is a Research Fellow at the Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit (CHHU). She is a graduate of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Altyn conducts anthropological research on gender issues and informal communications in Kyrgyz society. One of her recent studies is devoted to the role of women in small and medium enterprise development in Kyrgyzstan. Altyn’s curatorial expertise covers visual arts, theatre, and creative writing. Currently, Altyn is doing research on cultural policy and the creative industry in Central Asia, and leads the CHHU Central Asian Museum Development Programme. The programme is directed at creating new decolonial narratives in museums and engaging the local community in museum activities.
Altyn also has been creating experimental art products, combining science, art, and politics. Altyn converts the results of her anthropological research into art works providing voice to vulnerable communities and involving them in decision-making.
As a fellow of the Central Asia and Caucasus Research and Training Initiative in 2012, Altyn interned at the Department of Anthropology at Texas A & M University, USA.
Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Seikei University,
Japan
Ph.D. in Public Economics
Since joining Seikei University, Associate Professor Tomoe Naito has been actively engaged in research on key social issues, including maternal employment, child poverty, elder care, and social security systems.
She has been serving as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Economics at Seikei University, Japan, since 2024. Dr. Naito holds a Ph.D. in Public Economics and is a seasoned researcher with a strong background in the academic and research sectors.
Her expertise spans Stata, economic research, econometrics, economic policy, and policy analysis, making her a valuable contributor to both academic discourse and practical policy development.
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