Samina Luthfa

Samina Luthfa (Bengali: সামিনা লুৎফা) also known as Samina Luthfa Nitra is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Dhaka and a social activist. Luthfa employs qualitative and mixed-method research, primarily concentrating on South Asia.^[2] She also a key member of University Teachers' Network, Bangladesh.^[3]

Samina Luthfa
সামিনা লুৎফা
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Known for	Environmental and social justice movements, political ecology, gender studies
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Oxford, Lehigh University, University of Dhaka
Academic work
Discipline	Political Ecology, Social Movement, Work and Employment, Indigenous knowledge, Gender Studies
Sub-discipline	Sociologist
Institutions	University of Dhaka, Food Safety and Innovation Lab
Notable students	Nahid Islam[1]

Education and career

Luthfa earned her DPhil from the University of Oxford. She has also got an MA in Sociology from Lehigh University in the United States, where she completed her second master's with a Fulbright Scholarship.^[4] She has been involved in various research projects and has supervised numerous MSS and Ph.D. students.^{[5][failed verification]}. She is a theatre worker and founding member of Bottala -a performance space^[6]

Publication

Books

• Luthfa, S., Khan, T., & Kamal, M. (2022). The Bangladesh Environmental Humanities Reader: Environmental Justice, Developmental Victimhood and Resistance. Maryland: Lexington.^[7]
• Chowdhury, Z. A., Luthfa, S., & Gayen, K. (2016). Vulnerable Empowerment: Understanding Capabilities and Vulnerabilities of Female Garment Workers in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Bangladesh Mahila Parishad.^[8]

Research area and articles^[9]

• Media: Examining the framing of political protests in newspapers and studying the popular music preferences of Bangladeshi youth.
• Qualitative Research Methodology: Exploring action-based research in feminist political ecology.
• Indigenous Knowledge: Focusing on the agro-ecological knowledge of indigenous groups and their identity politics.^[10]
• Political Ecology: Investigating environmental justice movements and their impact in the global south.
• Gender: Studying discrimination against and vulnerabilities of female workers in Bangladesh, and the voices of women peasants and theatre actors.

Projects

Luthfa has been involved in these projects:

• Enhancing Food Safety in Fish and Chicken Value Chains of Bangladesh: A USAID-funded project where she serves as a Gender Advisor and Co-Principal Investigator.^[11]
• Youth and Cultural Consumption: A study on the consumption patterns of Korean culture (K-Pop) among Bangladeshi youth.^[12]
• Female Garment Workers' Rights: Research on the perceived vulnerability and capability of female garment workers in Bangladesh.^[13]
• Indigenous Knowledge: A Fulbright Scholarship-funded project debunking myths about indigenous knowledge.^[14]

Political engagement

During the July Uprising in Bangladesh, Luthfa participated in discussions and seminars, highlighting the socio-political dynamics and the impact of the uprising and widely regarded as one of the figure activists of the movement.^{[15][16][17][18]}

Publications and awards

Luthfa has published on her areas of research and has received awards for her contributions to sociology and activism.^{[19][failed verification]}