Faculty of ArtsSchool of Social and Political Sciences

Dr Bina Fernandez

Contact

E: bfernandez@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 3205
Office: Room 433C East Tower, John Medley (Building 191)

 

Academic and professional background

Bina Fernandez joined the University of Melbourne as a Lecturer in Development Studies in July 2011. Previously, she taught development studies for three years at the University of Leeds, UK. She has also taught at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, and the Universities of Oxford and Oxford-Brookes.

Bina's doctoral degree at the University of Oxford was completed in 2008, and focuses on the construction of a new feminist framework for the analysis of policy in developing countries. In 2006, she was awarded the UNDP Human Development Fellowship for the Asia Pacific. She has an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford, and a Masters in Social Work (Urban and Rural Community Development) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, USA.

Bina also has considerable professional experience as a development practitioner, obtained through eight years of working with rural development and human rights NGOs in India, in addition to research and evaluation consultancies with international NGOs.

Research interests

Current research focuses on the migration of Ethiopian women as domestic workers to countries in the Middle East. Fieldwork for this research was supported by a British Academy Small Grant awarded in 2010. Broader research interests within developing country contexts include feminist interventions in the state and policy processes, local self-government and decentralization. Bina is also interested in research on social movements, human rights and identity politics as they pertain to communities marginalized by ethnic, caste and sexual identities. Research in this area has focussed on lesbian and gay rights, and violence against lesbians in India.

Subjects taught

Publications

Books

Fernandez, B. 2012. Transformative Policy for Poor Women: A New Feminist Framework. Burlington, VT and Surrey, UK: Ashgate.

Fernandez, B., S Parasuraman, Gomathy N.B, and Kumaran Raj. 2003. Listening to People in Poverty. Bangalore: Books for Change.

Fernandez, B. 1999 (2002 2nd edition). Humjinsi : a resource book on lesbian, gay, and bisexual rights in India. Mumbai: India Centre for Human Rights and Law.

Book chapters

Fernandez, B. 2012. "Borders and boundaries: containing African migrations." in Africa’s International Relations: A Handbook, edited by T. Murithi. London: Routledge.

Fernandez, B. 2011. "Cheap and disposable? : The impact of the global economic crisis on the migration of Ethiopian women domestic workers to the Gulf." Pp. 87-100 in Gender and the Economic Crisis, edited by R. Pearson and C. Sweetman. Rugby, Warwickshire, UK: Practical Action Publishing Limited.

Fernandez, B. 2009. "Engendering Poverty Policy in India." in Gender and Discrimination: Health, nutritional status and role of women in India, edited by B. Pal, P. Bharati, B. Ghosh, and T. Vasulu. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Fernandez, B. and Gomathy N. B. 2005. "Fire, Sparks and Smouldering Ashes." in Because I have a Voice: Queer Politics in India, edited by A. Narrain and G. B. Bhan. New Delhi: Yoda Press.

Fernandez, B. and N. B. Gomathy. 2005. "Voicing the Invisible: violence against lesbians in India." in The Violence of Normal Times: Essays on Women's Lived Realities, edited by K. Kannabiran. London and New Delhi: Zed Books and Kali for Women.

Journal articles

Fernandez, B. 2011. "Household help? Ethiopian women domestic workers' labour migration to the Gulf countries" Asian and Pacific Journal of Migration 20(4).

Fernandez, B. 2011. "Exploring the relevance of Fraser's ethical-political framework of justice to the the analysis of inequalities faced by migrant workers." International Journal of Social Quality 1(2): pp.85-101.

Fernandez, B. 2011. "In the Scales: Approaches to Justice." Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies 13(3): pp.495-502.

Fernandez, B. 2010. "Poor practices: contestations around BPL status in India." Third World Quarterly 30(3): pp.415-30.

Fernandez, B. 2010. "Cheap and disposable? The impact of the global economic crisis on the migration of Ethiopian women domestic workers to the Gulf." Gender and Development 18(2): pp.249-62.

Peer reviews

Invited to review publications and proposals for:

 

Consultancies

Conducted research and evaluation consultancies for:

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