JILL GAULDING, MDIV ’20 The co-founder of the nonprofit legal and policy advocacy organization Gender Justice, Jill Gaulding works to eliminate inequality based on gender bias. A graduate of MIT, Gaulding came to HDS to complement her knowledge of cognitive neuroscience with Buddhist insights to get a richer understanding of perception and discrimination.
“Thousands of years ago, Buddhism called out the three poisons—delusion, attachment, and aversion—and told us that we’re making things up inside our heads, and that it’s really important to be aware of that. It’s the same basic insight about how we operate as human beings that we get from cognitive science, and it’s vital for public policy around things like discrimination.”
MAFAZ AL-SUWAIDAN, MTS ’18 Mafaz Al-Suwaidan grew up in Kuwait and came to HDS to study religion and culture, with a focus on Islam. A creative writer and journalist, she explores various Islamic texts and their relationship with religious and cultural identities. This year, she continues her studies in Harvard’s doctoral program.
“People say, ‘I want to challenge the patriarchy.’ Of course I want to challenge the patriarchy. And when I read—the fact that I’m doing this—it’s already being challenged. I see very clearly that my gaining knowledge does serve the world.”
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