Feminist resistance and the role of academia in preventing genocide | IOE – Faculty of Education and Society – University College London

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Event type:
Hybrid
Date & time:
06 Feb 2025, 14:00 – 15:30
By drawing on lessons from India’s politics of hate, Dr Laila Kadiwal, Associate Professor at UCL, will consider what role academics, students, and universities can play in addressing genocide.
Feminist resistance and the role of academia in preventing genocide
06 Feb 2025, 14:00 – 15:30
W2.06
IOE, 20 Bedford Way
London
WC1H 0AL
United Kingdom
Genocide is not a sudden event but a deliberate, gradual process that builds on systemic discrimination, violence, and political repression against targeted groups. India serves as a critical case study within the global rise of neofascism, authoritarianism, and right-wing populism, where Indian Muslim populations have been identified as at risk of genocide by international organisations such as the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention (Red Flag) and Genocide Watch (Emergency Alert). Despite these warnings, global public, academic and media attention often fail to fully recognise the genocidal potential inherent in the politics of hate.
The research discussed in this seminar draws on Genocide Watch’s Ten Stages of Genocide, categorising these acts into three overarching frameworks that explicitly target Indian Muslims as a social group. It highlights the interconnected structures of caste supremacy, white supremacy, and neo-colonial capitalist neoliberal patriarchy that place Muslims, Dalits, and other marginalised communities at grave risk. Focusing on grassroots feminist resistance led by Muslim women and students, the presentation examines how critical feminist movements challenge the politics of hate and subvert its power structures.
The research offers significant insights into genocide prevention by emphasising the role of critical grassroots feminist social learning movements and the knowledge and agency of at-risk communities in addressing critical gaps in current prevention strategies. It calls on academics, students, and universities to rethink their roles in recognising early warning signs and advancing meaningful action against the politics of hate.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned: 
Discrimination and hate speech, the early warning signs of genocide, are on the rise everywhere.
This research argues that by amplifying grassroots feminist resistance and incorporating their insights into global prevention frameworks, academia and educational institutions can play a transformative role in averting genocidal violence and fostering a more just society.
This event will be particularly useful for researchers, academics and students.
Lucia Fox via Adobe Stock.
Associate Professor
Centre for Education and International Development (CEID) at the IOE, UCL
Ticketing
Pre-booking essential
Cost
Free
Open to
All
Availability
Yes
Organiser
Dr Colleen Howell
colleen.howell@ucl.ac.uk
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