Hi everyone! My name is Gungun Islam, and I am a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University. My research examines the everyday experiences of infertility among Muslim women in India, exploring how reproductive suffering is shaped by intersections of social, economic, and religious inequality. Muslim women are among the most disadvantaged communities in India. Yet their reproductive struggles remain largely absent from public health and policy discussions, a silence reinforced by Islamophobic narratives around fertility and state-led population control programs.
Through the Cultural Heritage Informatics (CHI) Fellowship, I am developing a digital archive that documents these women’s stories as a form of intangible cultural heritage. The archive builds on my M.Phil. research (2021–2023) and brings together years of ethnographic work, oral histories, body maps, photographs, field notes, and everyday narratives that reveal how structural inequality shapes reproductive life. It also includes media stories, policy debates, and cultural texts that show how infertility and Muslim womanhood are represented in contemporary India.
This project is deeply personal to me. As an Indian Muslim woman, I have seen firsthand how inequality and discrimination determine who receives care and who is left behind. I grew up watching women in my community navigate not only illness but also the social and moral judgments attached to it. Creating this archive is my way of honoring their experiences and ensuring they are not erased. By sharing these narratives, I hope to open up new conversations about inclusive reproductive health in India.
My interest in digital cultural heritage began when I took a Digital Humanities seminar in Spring 2025 and realized how digital spaces can extend the life of ethnography, making research more open, collaborative, and accountable to the people whose stories it represents. Before joining MSU, I also worked as a content specialist, developing skills in storytelling, audience engagement, and digital strategy. Through the CHI Fellowship, I aim to bring these skills together to create a public-facing, feminist platform that highlights the lived realities of reproductive struggles and inequality. In the coming days, I will be sharing more about my project, the stories, the design process, and the inspiring women whose experiences guide it. Stay tuned!
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