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A lawsuit filed in Houston federal court last month accuses Texas A&M University (TAMU) of committing sex discrimination and retaliation against Dr. Sheela Athreya, a professor at the defendant’s Middle Eastern campus in Al Rayyan, Qatar, according to a press release published on PR Newswire on July 31.
“[The lawsuit is] to hold accountable the individuals who create a hostile climate for women, as well as those who shield them; because accountability is essential for change,” Athreya’s legal counsel, Austin-based law firm Wiley Walsh, P.C., said in the release.
According to the release, the plaintiff was recruited to teach a core curriculum course at TAMUQ in an effort to increase the number of women on the faculty. Athreya was allegedly "the only woman serving at TAMUQ from the main campus, the only woman with tenure, only one of two women in research-engaged positions (tenured/tenure track or rolling contract/track) promoted past assistant professor and one of only four women in a research engaged position at any rank" when her contract commenced, the release said citing court documents.
Barely a week after Athreya and her family arrived in Qatar, the lawsuit said, the TAMU Liberal Arts Program chair who enlisted her was informed by Dr. César O. Malavé, the dean, her contract couldn’t be renewed though he had never met the plaintiff. Per the release, the chair found the reasons for non-renewal unsatisfactory and was prompted to submit a sex discrimination complaint against Malavé.
The lawsuit further claims Athreya’s ordeal in question isn’t unique as the dean has been the subject of numerous sexism complaints raised at the Qatar campus.
“Based on one witness statement quoted in the complaint, the dean ‘makes women feel uncomfortable and unsupported,” the release said. “Eleven or twelve female faculty have left since his arrival and five or six specifically due to Dean Malavé's treatment."
The release doesn’t specify the monetary amount Athreya seeks in damages.