Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies

Dr Bari was one of the pioneers and first academic and administrative head of the Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. For many years she has been actively involved in campaigning and raising awareness about gender issues in Pakistan, along with being involved in various groups and movements working for human rights and social justice. She is the founding member of Women Action Forum and Pattan Development Organization, a rural based NGO. She has written extensively on social development, gender and governance and violence against women’s issues. She writes regularly on women’s issues in the local newspapers.

Dr. Rashid has been working in the human rights and development sector for over 22 years now. A psychologist by training, she has been associated with various non-governmental groups in Pakistan including heading a national women and child rights organization for 14 years. She acquired her doctorate in Politics and International Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 2018. Her book, Dying to Serve, Militarism, Affect and the Politics of Sacrifice in the Pakistan Army was published in 2020 by Stanford University Press. She continues to be involved in trainings and research on violence against women, gender, masculinities, and militarism, both nationally and in South Asia.

Ms. Ihsan is an Assistant Professor who is currently the Incharge at the Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies (CEGS) where she has taught for over ten years and supervised numerous researches. In addition, Ms. Ihsan has over 15 years of experience in the development sector both as full time and freelance consultant -she has headed international research projects and conducted gender assessments, evaluations and scoping studies with different multilateral and bilateral donor agencies and local and international NGOs.

Ms. Mobeen has taught as a lecturer at the Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad since 2012. She is currently enrolled as a PhD scholar at the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Islamabad. She has done a postgraduate degree in Gender and Media from the University of Sussex, UK and a post graduate diploma in social studies from the University of Warwick, UK. Her areas of research interest include the relational dynamics between gender, culture, and politics. Furthermore, through her work she has been involved in raising gender consciousness and sensitization at various forums and institutions.

Hailing from Gilgit Baltistan Ms. Ashraf has an experience of working with bilateral and multilateral agencies, as a researcher. Her areas of research have included gender-based violence and economic engagement of women. She has also taught MBA students in Management sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University & has been a guest lecturer at the centre of gender studies. She also dabbles in impromptu poetry in her native language, Shina.