In this episode, host Francine Barchett interviews Dr. Chie Ikeya, an Associate Professor of History, the Director of the Institute for Research on Women, and the Co-Director of the Global Asias Initiative at Rutgers University. Dr. Ikeya discusses the history and legacies of the Buddhist Women’s Special Marriage and Succession Act in Burma. She compares this legislation to similar international policies supporting religious freedom. Later, she argues that such marriage laws often treat Asian migrants and settlers as outsiders who can never fully integrate. In other words, they may preserve the "purity" of the dominant group by controlling women's rights (e.g., in areas like marriage, reproduction, and property) while claiming to protect women. Lightning Round: 4:30

Research and lecture summary: 10:49   Advice for researchers and recommendations: 42:29   Dr.Ikeya's top recommendations: 

• Ghosts of war in Vietnam by Heonik Kwon
• Ghostly Past, Capitalist Presence: A Social History of Fear in Colonial Bengal by Tithi Bhattacharya
• Global Asias: Tactics & Theories by Tina Chen and Charlotte Eubanks

The music on the podcast is from "14 Strings!", a Filipino style Rondalla group established in Cornell University. Check them out here.

Produced by Adam Farihin, Neen Tangcharoenmonkong, and Cecilia Liu.