Arranged marriages, chauvinism, family planning and education are some of the topics a new focus group of the South Asian Association (SAA) hopes to address from a gender-sensitive perspective.

These topics concern those in South Asia and those who have immigrated to and are living in the United States, said Muneer I. Ahmad '93, co-president of SAA.

"With the exception of Sri Lanka, literacy rates are 50 percent or less," said Ahmad, adding that family planning education "affects all of the Third World."

"We need to better address women's issues," Ahmad added. "All of these issues which are directly related to women...go both ways. They affect both women and men."

The new forum, headed by Sujatha Baliga '93 and Mona Karim '93, plans to begin this semester with speakers and workshops. Organizers hope to expand the program into a day-long conference in the spring semester, Ahmad said.

"Each subject matter can be approached from different perspectives. There are so many regional differences, not all the issues have been addressed," said Baliga, who added that the focus group wants to view the issues in a "celebratory nature."

The idea for the formation of the gender-issues forum stemmed from concerns members of the SAA had about the status of women in developing countries, Ahmad said.

Increases in the number of South Asian students at Harvard may have elevated concerns on these issues, said Mukesh Prasad '93, SAA co-president.

But the group says that it hopes the forum will be of interest to people outside of SAA as well, including both ethnic and gender-related groups, said Ahmad.

"We want to extend some appeal to a broader audience within the organization and in the broader community," he said. "Our expectation is that it will be an ongoing program."