Md. Abdullah All Shakil
Program Entrance
2023
Advisor
César Ernesto Abadía-Barrero
Research Interests
Medical Anthropology; Women’s Health; Gender and Sexuality; Chronicity and Burden; Reproductive Health and Justice; Climate Change; Systemic Environmental Destruction; Privatization; Healthcare Financing
About
Where are you/will you be conducting your research/fieldwork?
Over the last ten years, I have been working in two different fields simultaneously, community-based activism and health research. I have been working with a non-profit youth organization in Bangladesh on building an environmental movement. Besides, I worked with international development agencies and public health research institutions on diverse issues such as gender and equity, access to immunization and healthcare, zoonotic diseases, and human-centered design. My current Ph.D. project on the growing prevalence of uterus infections and hysterectomies (uterus removal surgery) in the southern coast of Bangladesh is bringing together my work in environmental activism and health research.
What do you find most interesting about your field work/research location?
I will conduct fieldwork in Shyamnagar, a subdistrict under Satkhira District in Bangladesh. Satkhira is located on the southern coast of Bangladesh. The region is known for climate vulnerability and frequent natural disasters (predominantly cyclones and floods). Polder water management and commercial shrimp cultivation have drastically increased groundwater salinity in the region, leading to an extreme crisis of fresh water for drinking and personal hygiene.
What is your most memorable experience in the field so far, or most memorable lesson learned?
For my master’s thesis on infertility treatment in Bangladesh, I worked with ten women on their quest for conception. During the fieldwork, I realized compassion and respect could open windows to discussing issues we consider taboo or difficult. It is also ok for an ethnographer to be uncomfortable and vulnerable. The process of doing ethnography is valuable for both ethnographer and the interlocutors.
What do you do in your downtime? Share something interesting about yourself!
My guilty pleasure is watching recipes on YouTube and trying those for my wife and son.
