Asima Jena

Dr. Asima Jena, has been with the Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad since September, 2018. Her areas of interest include sexuality studies, sociology of health, sociology of gender and contemporary debates in ethnography and labour. Earlier, she was with the Centre for Studies in Society and Development, at the School of Social Sciences, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar from September, 2011 to September, 2018. She studied sociology at University of Hyderabad. Her doctoral work among former Devadasis focused on the process through which risk culture gets produced in Godavari region in the context of HIV/AIDS and how HIV/AIDS discourse shaped the identity of former Devadasis and lower caste women as well as subversive tactics deployed by subaltern women.

Areas of Interest:

• Sexuality Studies
• Sociology of Health
• Sociology of Gender
• Debates in Ethnography

Publications:

1. “Critical Reflections on Health Sector Reforms in India: A Seminar Report” (With Madhumita Biswal), Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 2018.
2. “Legitimizing Violence: A Narrative of Sexual Health.” In Purendra Prasad and Amar Jesani (Ed.). Equity and Access: Health Care Studies in India, Oxford University Press. 2018.
3. “Whose Body is Legitimized for Sterilization After All?” (with Madhumita Biswal), Society and Culture in South Asia, 2014.
4. Stigma, Sex Work and HIV: Contradictions and Lessons Learnt from a Community Led Structural Intervention in Southern India", (with Monica Biradavolu et al), Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2012.
5. “Challenging the Stigmatization of Female Sex Workers through a Community Led Structural Intervention: Learning from a Case Study of a Female Sex Worker Intervention in Andhra Pradesh”, (with Kim Blankenship et al) AIDS Care, 2010.
6. Culture, Propertied Classes and Dynamics of a Region: A Study of HIV/AIDS in East Godavari District (Andhra Pradesh)”, (with Purendra Prasad), Sociological Bulletin, 2009.
7. Can Sex Workers Regulate Police: Learning from an HIV prevention project for sex workers in South India”, (with Monica Biradavolu et al) Social Science and Medicine, 2009.
8. Exploitation of Child Work and Risk: A Study in an Urban Slum in Bhubaneswar”, in Kailash Satyarthi and Bhupinder Zutshi (ed) "Globalization, Development and Child Rights". Sipra, 2006.