Meena Sonea Hewett is the Executive Director of the Harvard South Asia Institute (SAI) and provides the administrative leadership to its day to day operations. She works with faculty and students across Harvard who are building new knowledge on South Asia. Meena oversees the work of SAI offices in Cambridge, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Meena served as the Executive Director of Saheli, a community based nonprofit that supports South Asian immigrants affected by immigration based family violence in the US.  She has also worked at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College. Before transitioning to work focused on social issues, Meena worked for over a decade in the field of architecture and museum design She has a Master’s in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a Master's Degree in Architecture from Rice University in Houston. She has a BA in Economics from St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, India.

I spoke to Meena on her interest in issues that affect her most, the passion behind her work at Harvard and the impact that she hopes to make as women worldwide understand their changing role in society.

On her interest in girls and women issues:

My interest and life work has always been focused on girls and women and much of it has come from my upbringing in India. Being a woman in India is always challenging. You have to be bold if what you believe in needs to be heard. Women have to prove themselves to be taken seriously and this is where my interest to work for and with women took seed.

Journey from a career as an architect to social issues:

I came to the US to study architecture in the late 80’s when there were not many woman architects, as a minority and as a professional, in a largely male dominated field.  The challenges were opportunities to show that there is a place for women in every kind of work and that we should not shy away from careers that seem male centric. My experience has taught me that if you see within yourself that you have something to offer, immerse yourself in it, and share it with others otherwise you would not uncover what you have to contribute.

The women’s movement:

When I transitioned from working in architecture to focus on gender issues, I joined Wellesley College and worked at the Wellesley Centers for Women, a leading women’s research center. It was a gateway for me to understand women’s issues across areas--education, women’s rights, women in STEM---science, technology, engineering and math, work-life balance and so on. My work at the Centers reinforced my belief that there is no field exclusively for men. We built our lives and careers on the backs of women involved in the global women’s movement and the parallel, Indian feminist movement, and we now have an obligation to do the same for the subsequent generations.

Influences:

During this time I was introduced to Saheli and the South Asia Women’s Organizations. I began by volunteering with Saheli which helped me understand some of the difficulties we experience as immigrants and as South Asian women living in the US. Saheli’s mission is to provide support to immigrant women facing family violence in this country. I worked with new immigrants who were reaching out to us for support when they experienced abuse and trauma caused by their spouse and in-laws in a country where they had no social capital. These women had to overcome barriers of language, education, and navigating the American criminal justice system. Those of us who may be a few steps ahead of them in this regard saw it as a responsibility to serve and support the women who were reaching out to us. We were able to provide these women access to State and Federally funded social services such as counseling, translation services, court support and shelter for battered women. Beyond these direct services we also took on educating men and boys on the issues of patriarchy, gender equality, and cultural norms that are detrimental to girls and women’s progress. One of the groundbreaking projects I was involved in was designing and implementing a training program for law enforcement officers on cultural sensitivity. We trained 350 police officers across the State in 13 towns sensitizing them to south Asian culture and providing effective support for South Asian women who face violence at home.

Current work:

My current work at the Harvard South Asia Institute fulfils a deep desire to connect with people engaged in the common purpose of bringing about social change by impacting lives of people in South Asia. I have the privilege of working with incredibly interesting and thoughtful individuals at Harvard and elsewhere, who are committed to the region. There is no dearth of issues and work that needs to be done when you take on the challenges faced by 2 billion people on the planet. This work is never complete and I’m always searching for more time.

Inspiration and role models:

I am inspired by people I meet and things I see, every day. Just yesterday when I was at the grocery store and the young Sudanese man at the cash register commented on the three boxes of chocolates I had picked “ahh I see chocolate is your popular item for the day”, and I said “yes, they are all for me!”, is an example of being present to small things in life. The happy exchange made me present to the connections you make with others and the joy you can take in your work, no matter what that may be, are simply meaningful to me.

In my formative years, my mother has been my role model. Growing up in a traditional family in a small village near Ayodhya, she chose to leave home and study in Shantiniketan and later on moved to Bombay to teach art at Cathedral School. As an artist, she encouraged me to “play” with paints and charcoal and I learned early on that life can be interesting if you chose to experiment rather than search for the right answer.

On home and family influences:

This lesson continues with my husband, who is an American, and a huge advocate for not settling with what comes easy. Life with him is always interesting as we find ways to balance our two cultures. As parents of two teenagers we are learning from them as much as we teach them what matters. We encourage them to constantly inquire, am I giving my life what it deserves---a question I ask of myself often. 

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