Former members

Dr Radhika Govinda is a former Director of GENDER.ED (2023 - 2025).

Dr James Bell (he/him) is an artist and researcher specialising in queer and trans art, activism, culture, and social histories.

James has a background in education and production in artist-led and contemporary arts organisations. He has working knowledge of and interests in arts education, exhibition making, access and equities, social justice, and social practice in contemporary art. 

Meryl is a Professor in Gender and Politics and Co-Director of the Feminism and Institutionalism International Network.

She is a member of the Steering Group, and is the Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Project Lead and the Co-Convener of ‘Understanding Gender in the Contemporary World.’

Fiona is the founding Director of GENDER.ED (2017-2022).

She is a feminist political scientist at the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on the impact of gender reform efforts during periods of restructuring and institutional change, addressing the extent to which global and local institutions of politics and governance may be designed or reformed to address gender inequality and promote gender justice.

Fiona is a member of the Steering Group.

Sheher Bano is a fourth year Sociology student at the School of Social and Political Science. 

She is passionate about all things race, gender, sexuality and other forms of identities and resulting inequalities within the de-colonial and/or post-colonial context, particularly within South Asia.

Mouna is a 4th year undergraduate student in Sociology and Politics. 

She is interested in postcolonial feminist theory and the intersection between gendered anti-Muslim racism and public housing policies in the Nordics. 

Her interest in gender issues also informs her academics, and she is currently writing a dissertation on the construction and evolution of dominant societal beauty standards for women.

Harriet’s interest in gender, sexuality and justice stems from her research on power, authority, law and the State in early modern Scotland, including the implications of ‘Statecraft’ for the lives of ordinary people.

Rhea Gandhi is a psychotherapist, group therapist and liberation-oriented educator and researcher. She is doing her PhD in Counselling Studies and broadly exploring decolonial approaches to counselling training.

Her research is concerned with global bioethics, structural and gender justice. ethical issues related to global health emergencies, public health, global surrogacy, sex-selection, biomedical research, and racism in health.

Lauren is a 3rd year undergraduate student in History. She is interested in exploring gender in modern Scottish history and the intersection between gender and class in Scotland. 

Amy Life is a fourth year French and Philosophy student at the school of Literatures, Languages and Cultures.

She is passionate about ending all forms of Gender Based Violence and has a strong interest in promoting equality within her local communities. Amy is particularily interested in the links between epistemic injustice and the way marginalised identities are perceived when fighting for justice in both individual and group settings.

Fiona’s research focuses on the impact of gender reform efforts during periods of restructuring and institutional change, addressing the extent to which global and local institutions of politics and governance may be designed or reformed to address gender inequality and promote gender justice.

She plays a leading role in the design and delivery of work packages/projects which are a priority for creating GRT’s future research support services; specifically, those that reduce risk to the university and create opportunity, as well as supporting research support professionals.

Zubin was the interim Associate Director for Semester 1 of 2025/26, whilst Wannes Dupont was on research leave.

Dr Zubin Mistry is a Lecturer in Early Medieval European History. He is a historian of early medieval Europe between 500 and 1000 whose work focuses in particular on reproduction.

His research uses topics like abortion and infertility to think about religious beliefs, legal regimes, political culture and medical practice.

She is passionate about advocating for gender equality and intersectional feminism.

Syjil is a fourth year undergraduate student of Social Policy with Quantitative methods, and has been the President of the University of Edinburgh Feminist Society during the 2023-2024 academic year. She continues to prioritise making improvements to the sexual violence redressal system at the University of Edinburgh, improving the experiences of transgender students, and advocating for positive intersectional changes for students.

He is responsible for representing students on issues of learning and teaching, and is also the key Sabbatical Officer contact for EUSA’s Programme and School Representatives.

Her research interests lie at the intersection of gender, economic and social histories of South Asia and the Middle East.