One of Coady Institute’s newest employee’s work is already being recognized by her peers.
In the past few months Ibtesum Afrin, a Research Officer with the Engage Women’s Empowerment and Active Citizenship team, has completed her doctorate and seen part of her work published.
Her recent contribution, Anthropological Insights on Resistance and Protest: The Rohingya Refugee Context, was published in Bangla in Living with Refugees: Everyday Experiences of Rohingya and Local Bengalis by University Press Limited. The chapter is informed by her doctoral fieldwork and provides an exploration of the underlying systems and power structures involved in forced displacements.
Ibtesum’s work centers on what many would rather not see: displacement, resistance, and the layered realities of stateless populations. Across fieldwork, writing, and program leadership, Ibtesum confronts the language and systems that too often render people invisible, especially when they resist. Through research and advocacy, she insists on a different kind of visibility – one that centers dignity over tokenism and justice over quiet survival.
“I remain hopeful, even in a world facing many crises,” Ibtesum says.
“Any assertion of agency by the Rohingya was often met with accusations of disobedience, this contradiction drove me to highlight the realities of their struggle and argue for a more dignified and just approach to refugee governance.”
Ibtesum works with Engage, where her responsibilities include supporting coordination across global partners, co-authoring the research agenda, and serving as a co-investigator on internal value processes.
“This work ties into the broader themes of social development and advocacy within the project,” she explains.
“It is also helping me understand power dynamics, equity, and sustainable frameworks of North-South partnerships.”
Through her involvement with Engage, Ibtesum has travelled to Tanzania and Bangladesh “to explore feminist organizing and movement-building in cross-partner settings.”
Her work continues to build on themes such as intersectionality, context-based activism, and collaborative knowledge production. These are all areas that she identifies as critical to equitable development.
In addition to her recent book chapter, Ibtesum has two more contributions in production. One focuses on the colonial and post-colonial legacies influencing the displacement of the Rohingya over time. The other explores how refugees challenge and resist bureaucratic marginalization.
“It will look at themes of bureaucracy, resistance, resilience, agency, and liminality,” she says.
Ibtesum is also in the process of publishing a journal article next year based on her doctoral work, where she examines the role of bureaucracy in shaping the future of Rohingya youth.
“I want this book to challenge the dominant, top-down approaches to addressing refugee concerns,” she says. “It should serve as a medium to bring to light the challenges refugees face daily and push for discussions with displaced communities when discussing their future.”
Whether through her academic writing or her work with Engage, Ibtesum continues to raise critical questions about governance, representation, and whose voices are centered in conversations about displacement.