Jacqueline Bhabha

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jacqueline Bhabha

• Jacqueline’s parents were German Jews who fled to India from Germany during Nazi rule to avoid being killed in the holocaust (genocide of European Jews during World War II).

• Jacqueline was born in India but her parents moved to Milan, Italy when she was 10 years old.

• She received more than 70% grade in her undergraduate degree, leading her to receive the First-Class Honours Degree.

• She met Homi K. Bhabha for the first time at Oxford during her undergraduate years.

• Before 1997, Jaqueline was practising law, especially in the field of human rights, in London and at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

• From 1997 till 2001 Bhabha was directing the Human Rights Program at the University of Chicago.

• In 2000, Jacqueline launched the program called Scholars at Risk which aims to help academics who are facing persecution to find temporary safe places in American universities (usually for one year).

• She is haunted by a childhood memory from India, where she saw children who were purposefully injured by their parents to increase their effectiveness as beggars.

• Jacqueline can speak up to 6 languages.

• In February 2022, Jacqueline with 37 other Harvard faculty members signed a letter to Harvard Crimson defending Professor John Comaroff, who was accused of violating the university’s sexual and professional conduct policies. The letter defended Comaroff saying he was an excellent colleague, advisor, and committed university citizen. However, later Jacqueline and many others regretted signing the letter.