By Compiled by Carrie Chisholm

Alisha Bhagat received her undergraduate degree in anthropology and history this past May, with a minor in materials science. She grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, where she attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Alisha is the winner of a Fulbright Scholarship and will be leaving in September to begin a year-long project in India.


Why did you decide to apply for the Fulbright Scholarship and how did you qualify for it?

I did a project during the summer of my junior year where I traveled abroad (on the Vira I. Heinz scholarship) and created a short film on a group of Muslim women in India. This project had a big impact on me. When I came back to Carnegie Mellon for my senior year I became immersed in further studying the topics of Islam, feminism and India.

My project on Islamic Feminism in India was selected for the Fulbright award. The project is also a part of the Islamic Civilizations Initiative, a new program through Fulbright to support projects having to do with Islam.

Can you tell me more about your film project?

The film is entitled “Deen and Duniya: Religion in the Life of Daudi Bohra Women.” It’s about the women of a specific Muslim sect in India and the issues that they face, like education, marriage and some controversial religious practices. I was inspired to make the film both through my work as a student of anthropology and as my work as an activist and a feminist. Coming from a Muslim background, I wanted to make a film that allowed a group of Muslim women to speak about the controversial issues in their lives and how they grapple with them.

How you will be expanding this through the Fulbright Scholarship?

I’ve become aware of the unique situation of Islamic women in India. As Muslims in a predominantly Hindu country, they are in a minority group and are often placed in the position of being the upholders of tradition, placing minority rights over gender equality. Muslim women in India are also subject to a different legal code than women of other religions, giving them different rights to divorce and so on. I am very interested in studying the way that this subgroup of Muslim women organizes to address religious and social problems and the reforms they push for.

What did you get from Carnegie Mellon?

I think that Carnegie Mellon prepared me well. The openness for collaboration, not just within the university but outside of it as well, is amazing. Carnegie Mellon has a long history, but is also extremely open to change. It’s a great environment to learn in, with professors, students and people in the administration all coming to the university with new ideas to impact the community and to push the boundaries of academic thought.

The humanities program at Carnegie Mellon is also very nurturing. I was able to get individualized attention and collaborate with professors in a way that wouldn’t have been possible in larger humanities programs.

What would you say to a prospective student?

Carnegie Mellon is a great place to leave your comfort zone. It’s important to place yourself in situations where you are constantly challenged – simply getting involved with a group of people just like yourself won't do. Any student can succeed and make the most of their time at Carnegie Mellon if they push themselves and place themselves in a like-minded group of people who want to be challenged.