UG regrets passing of Dr Ameena Gafoor

Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 August 2024, 19:03 by Writer

The University of Guyana (UG) notes with deepest sadness the passing of our dearest former lecturer, author, researcher, benefactor, and recipient of an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters, Ameena Gafoor.

To paraphrase the words written and read by the University’s Official Master Orator, Al Creighton, at the Conferral Ceremony in 2022, Ameena was “a symbol of endurance and enlightenment; a flame providing light, steadfast and persevering, against the persistent force of a prevailing wind.” Her life, well lived, provides a model of “illumination and hopeful victory over darkness in times of adversity.”

The University, even in this moment, celebrates an individual who triumphed over humble and difficult beginnings—a mother, wife, literary critic, researcher, editor, anthologist, cultural activist, creative writer, philanthropist, and social worker. Mrs Gafoor was the founder and editor of the literary academic publication The Arts Journal, the founder and director of The Arts Forum with a special interest in the visual arts and Indian art. She was a member of the Jury for the Guyana Prize for Literature and has four literary publications, including an autobiography and the forthcoming Bibliography of Guyanese Writers, which she was making final arrangements for at the time of her passing. She was a feminist critic and a Muslim woman who wrote in the context of Islamic womanhood in Guyana, which is rare and can only otherwise be found in the work of a handful of other Guyanese women.

Mrs Gafoor established the Ameena Gafoor Institute, a cultural, literary, intellectual, artistic, and research centre set up in her name, with headquarters in England, managed by the Institute’s Director, Prof. David Dabydeen. The Ameena Gafoor Institute advances research and scholarship in a number of areas, including the history, wide-ranging studies, and literature of Indian Indentureship.

Among other things, Mrs Gafoor was the CEO of the Gafoor Foundation, and, along with her husband, hardware mogul Dr Sattaur Gafoor, recently gifted the University of Guyana its Multi-purpose Centre, which is in the final stages of completion. The University records its deep appreciation for her life and contributions and extends its deepest condolences on behalf of Chancellor Prof. Edward Greene, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Paloma Mohamed Martin, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Senior Management Team, faculty, staff, and students, in particular from the Faculty of Education and Humanities (FEH), with which she was closely associated. Deepest sympathy to her husband, children, and loved ones. May her soul rest in absolute peace.

Video of the conferral of Mrs Gafoor’s Honorary Doctorate in 2022.

UG in Brief 

The University of Guyana, the national university of Guyana, now in its 61st year, was founded in October 1963, three years before Guyana became independent. “UG” as it is fondly referred to offers over 171 distinct programmes in over 70 disciplines from Certificates, Diplomas, Associate Degrees, Bachelor’s Degrees, Master’s Degrees to Ph.D.s. These programmes are offered online, face-to-face or in blended formats. UG delivers through a system of eight campuses. This includes its 37-year-old community-based Institute for Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE) and the second major campus at Tain in Berbice celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025. The University of Guyana’s student population is over 11,500.

Through its 8 academic divisions and 9 Research Institutes and Centers, including an accredited College of Medical Sciences, School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation and the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences which has been ranked #5 globally. “UG” has provided education, training and research for over 64,000 alumni over its 61-year history with significant national and global impact. Key faculties include the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, the Faculty of Natural Sciences, the College of Behavioural Sciences and Research, the Faculty of Education and Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences. The University is also home to 10 Research Institutes including the recently launched Institute for Marine and Riverine Ecologies and Economies (IMAREE), the internationally important Centre for Biodiversity, the Institute for Food and Nutrition Security, the Institute for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Institute for Energy Diplomacy, the Green Institute, the Institute for Human Resiliency, Strategic Security and the Future, and the International Centre for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. The mission of the University of Guyana is to discover, generate, disseminate and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the advancement of communities, the nation, and mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical inquiry.