The University of Iowa South Asian Studies Program, an International Programs affinity group, will host a virtual lecture by Dr. Misria Shaik Ali examining disability, reproductive technologies, and nuclear exposure in India. Drawing on research near the Tummalapalle Uranium Mine and Mill, the lecture explores how environmental contamination, medical practices, and political power shape experiences of disability and reproductive health.
In 2016, farmers in MC Palle and Kottala, along with pollution authorities, identified the presence of uranium in borewells near the Tummalapalle Uranium Mine and Mill (TUMM), which they linked to the mine’s operations. In the years since, residents experiencing radiation-related health concerns have often sought care at private hospitals owned by relatives of local elected officials, pointing to the close relationships among medical services, industry, and regional governance.
Dr. Ali describes the emergence of what she terms a medico-nuclear-industrial complex at TUMM, in which fertility concerns are frequently framed as “a female problem,” and reproductive bodies come under increased medical attention through fertility testing and prenatal screening. Drawing on an eco-crip framework, she examines how medical interpretations of fetal images can reflect what she characterizes as a “eugenics logic of eliminating disability.”
About the Speaker:
Dr. Misria Shaik Ali earned her PhD in science and technology studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) and is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. Her research focuses on irradiation and politics of neglect in India's nuclear fuel cycle and on how controversies end and for whom. Her writings have been platformed by Maktoob Media, Platypus, Science, Technology and Human Values, Seminar Magazine, Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society, The Wire.in, and others.