Graduating senior plans to research women's peace groups in Israel

LAWRENCE -- Almas Tabassum Sayeed, Wichita senior graduating from the University of Kansas on May 19 with three degrees and a Fulbright scholarship, does not seek an easy path.

Next fall, Sayeed, who is Muslim, plans to enroll at Hebrew University in Jerusalem as a Fulbright scholar to research strategies for conflict resolution employed by six women's peace groups in Israel and Palestine. She will be affiliated with the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University.

Born in the United States, the daughter of Dr. Baseer A. and Bushra K. Sayeed of Wichita and a Wichita East High School graduate, Sayeed will receive bachelor's degrees this month from KU in philosophy, in women's studies and in international studies. She has also been accepted to study at the London School of Economics.

Aware that her Muslim name may restrict her freedom to travel within Israel, Sayeed said that she hopes she can progress in her study of conflict resolution strategies of these women's groups. On the advice of KU officials, she spent a summer considering whether to seek a Fulbright scholarship to study conflict resolution in a country where the religious and political atmosphere are less volatile.

Last August, when she prepared her Fulbright application, she was resolved that her research should be in Israel. The events of Sept. 11 did not change her plans though her parents did advise her to do so.

She studied Arabic in Palestine in 2000 in a study abroad experience that she coordinated because KU does not sponsor a program in that country. In 1999, she completed a summer internship with the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka, capital of Bangalore, India. Bangalore is her mother's home state.

Undergraduate research grants from KU helped Sayeed with some research expenses in both India and Palestine. She presented a paper, "Micro-finance as a Tool of Empowerment: Comparing Bangalore, India, and the West Bank, Palestine," in KU's 2000 Honors Program symposium.

She has already published a paper about her experience growing up in Kansas, "Chappals and Gym Shorts: An Indian Muslim Woman in the Land of Oz," in "Colonize This: Essays from Young Feminists of Color" edited by Bushra Rehman and Daisy Hernandez, Seal Press Publishing Co. of Seattle.

Her senior thesis for philosophy and women's studies examines issues of autonomy and of self.

Sayeed's research interests include examining how economic development can accommodate issues related to gender and investigating women's relationships to public institutions especially in matters related to families, to the workplace and to social issues. Sayeed notes these areas include domestic violence and health care.

At KU, Sayeed has been a research assistant with the Center for International Political Analysis working on a project funded by National Science Foundation grant. KU political scientists Deborah J. Gerner and Phillip Schrodt are co-principal investigators for the NSF project. Sayeed also worked as Gerner's administrative assistant for KU's new master's program in international studies.

In Lawrence, Sayeed has been honored by the Women's Transitional Care Services for counseling and management services at the domestic violence shelter. This year, she served on the WTCS board of directors. She has also been an organizer for the "Womyn Take Back the Night" annual demonstration to empower women and served with the Lawrence Peace Project and the KU Pro-Choice Coalition.