This is the first of a ‘Know Your Mentor’ series in which we will introduce to our readers
mentors from educational institutions who besides devoting time to teach children are also engaged in the pursuit of art, literature and social work. In the first instalment, we meet Asha Hans, an educator who retired from Utkal University as director of women’s
studies.
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, May 19: Asha Hans, a veteran teacher from the city who taught thousands of students, is now treading a different career path. The septuagenarian who retired as director of women’s studies from Utkal University in 2005 is now focusing on research and writing.
However, the spirit of mentoring the younger generations has not faded. “My teaching work did not end, they merely slowed down. I started focusing more on research work and writing books on gender and conflict. I still guide students doing their Ph D. Many students still come to me for guidance and I try my best to provide it,” says Hans, sitting in her chamber at Shantineketan Rehabilitation Centre for the Disabled, where she joined as chairman after retiring from Utkal.
Hans who has been contributing to other social services too has many stories to tell the visiting youths. Being one of the few citizens from the city who witnessed its transformation from a sprawling stretch of barren land to a cosmopolitan hub, she has many stories to share with her students.
“Our family originally hailed from Quetta near Peshawar in what is now Pakistan. After partition we moved to India, and in 1949 I moved to Bhubaneswar. At that time, the city was nothing but a patch of land with full of forests and greenery. Only the area near the railway station was developed and markets used to flourish in its vicinity. The city slowly underwent a drastic transformation,” Hans recollects.
Hans, during her stint as mentor at Utkal University, took a lot of interest in gender and conflict studies, and considers it essential that gender studies be introduced at the school-level to bridge gender inequality.
“It is the need of the hour. Gender studies is very important to inculcate gender sensitivity among students from a tender age. Ours is a patriarchal society, so it is all the more essential that children are made aware of different aspects of gender issues. Introducing such a course will inculcate in them a deep-seated respect for the other gender,” Hans says.
An author of several books on gender and disability, Hans says she is glad that the education system has undergone positive changed in the last few decades.
“Back in our day, a majority of the students wanted to become doctors and engineers, and the ones who were unable to, settled for the jobs of teachers, clerks and typists. But now, thanks to the diversified education system, a lot of avenues have opened up for the younger generation. Now, youngsters have the opportunity to make their careers in their fields of interest. This is a wonderful thing to have happened to our education system,” Hans says.
Hans is an avid user of modern technologies which she says make her research work easier. “The biggest technology in our era that really astonished our generation was the photocopying machine. It really made the lives of students and researchers much simpler and ushered in a revolution of sorts into our lives. Later, many innovative technologies came up and I was able to adapt to them. But I also see many people of my age who find it difficult to embrace new technologies and innovations,” Hans says.
