March is celebrated as a special month of women as it symbolizes the continuous struggle of women. Since ancient times, women were not treated equally, the situation was such that women did not have any place even at the social level. Under those circumstances, women moved forward and made efforts to achieve respectable positions for themselves both in society and in professional fields.
It took years, decades and eras to change people's attitudes and accept women's role as more than domestic work. The struggle still continues. Women are moving forward in all fields, breaking stereotypes. Her contribution in the fields of science, literature, research, law, governance and administration has increased manifold and she is proving to be excellent in all fields. Be it the role of a mother, a scientist, a lawyer, an administrator or a defense personnel, women are participating with courage and dedication.
Today we thank all the women. Every woman is special, and some women are doing very special things. In this series, let us meet one such woman – Samar Ahmed, who is making waves in an unconventional field – marine biology. Samar hails from Nainital, Uttarakhand where she was born and brought up.
His life journey in the field of marine biology has been quite interesting. It all started when Samar, after completing her graduation in biology in 2019, out of curiosity wrote an application to a professor at the Wildlife Institute of India to work on an ongoing or upcoming project. He got the opportunity to work on a project on migratory birds and it proved to be a turning point in his life.
The experience of research on birds attracted him to work in the direction of wildlife research. He then worked in a Wildlife Institute of India project as a field assistant on Common Crane and Flamingo in Kutch, Gujarat. In 2021 he worked on tigers in Ranthambore under a project of the National Center for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru.
While researching tigers he realized how larger species were considered very important and smaller species were often ignored. In this same vein, she decided to do post graduation in Biodiversity Conservation. And then she went to Mumbai to do post graduation in Biodiversity Conservation from Bombay University. She recalls how Juhu, even a very crowded beach, is full of biodiversity, harboring millions of tiny marine creatures in its rocks and crevices. This attracted him and his journey of research on marine creatures began.
Marine biology fascinated him so much that he wrote his post graduation thesis on 'Relationship of coral reefs and reef fishes'. In this dissertation he discussed how different types of fish are found in different types of coral colonies. He described 3 types of fish found in corals: herbivorous, carnivorous, and corallivorous. She explains that it is very interesting that fishes that are corallivorous help control the growth of spatially dominant types of coral and promote greater reef diversity.
Currently she is working with Dakshin Foundation. Dakshin Foundation is a non-profit organization working towards environmental sustainability and social justice. She is currently working on an initiative – REEFLOG, which is a citizen science project asking tourists/divers to write on a board the marine species they see. They compile this data and use it to further their research.
She strives to spread awareness, loves talking to people and answering their curiosities. A small step in the conservation of any species gives them a feeling of happiness. He believes that
We cannot save nature, nature saves us. Coming face to face with natural miracles, she describes how a bleached coral miraculously revives itself, how a bird comes millions of kilometers away to breed in the exact spot where it was born.
It's natural to face some challenges when working in an unconventional profession. She recalls that sometimes due to some unexpected circumstances, the living conditions in rural and coastal areas are not good. Being a woman, she also has to face some unpleasant incidents where male researchers are given importance and female researchers are sidelined. Challenges come but she has the courage to overcome them. She considers herself fortunate that she has always received immense support from her parents who are adventure enthusiasts themselves.
(PC: Freepik)
