Faiza Rahman Selected as a 2022 Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellow

Faiza Rahman, a Ph.D. candidate in Islamic Civilizations Studies at the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies at Emory University, has been named a 2022 Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellow.

The Newcombe Fellowship is one of the largest and most prestigious awards for Ph.D. candidates who explore facets of religious and ethical values to address the relevant questions of our time.

Rahman’s work examines the creation and circulation of Islamic knowledge about menstruation in Pakistan. “I study how menstruation is spoken about – and also not spoken about – in the religious and cultural world of Pakistan,” she said. “The public taboo of menstruation, combined with the Islamic emphasis on it, presents a tension that is at the heart of my study.”

For this research, Rahman collaborated with local menstrual hygiene and sexual health awareness groups that support women’s access to menstrual health in Pakistan. During pilot sessions of participant-observation, Rahman was stunned at how large menstruation looms in the everyday lives of the women who participated.

“The extreme need for dignified conversation is the foremost reason I came to this project,” she said. “Given my PhD training in Islamic Civilizations Studies, I found it necessary to bring a matter such as menstruation – considered shameful, or mundane, or trivial – as a consequential topic of research in the field of Islamic Studies.”

Rahman is among 22 fellows in this year’s class, representing fields such as anthropology, history, government, sociology, and philosophy. For her and for the 1,300 other early career researchers who have earned the Newcombe Fellowship since 1981, the award provides support and validation at a pivotal time in their academic journeys.

“When I first started writing about menstruation, I was a timid scholar who doubted herself a lot,” Rahman said. “Thanks to the excellent mentorship, care, and encouragement I received from my Emory professors, I was finally able to build courage. When I received the Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, I was able to get the reassurance and intellectual recognition that I now wish for so many of my colleagues in humanities academia: yes, your research matters! I am endlessly grateful to be a recipient of this generous award.”