BA (Hons), Communicative English, Aligarh Muslim University (2011)
MA Human Rights, Aligarh Muslim University (2013)
MSc Development Studies, London South Bank University (2015)

Biography

Wajiha Mehdi is a PhD Candidate at Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at University of British Columbia. Her research interests include Islamophobia, nationalism, geographies of violence and struggles of Muslim women in India. Her work exists at the intersection of postcolonial, critical Muslim studies, intersectional feminist work to develop an understanding of how ideas of belonging and citizenship are reinscribed spatially during violent nationalist moments.

Wajiha has pursued Master’s in Development Studies from London South Bank University which was funded by the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship. She also holds a Master’s degree in human Rights from Aligarh Muslim University, as well as, Bachelor’s degree in Communicative English from Aligarh Muslim University. At Aligarh Muslim University, Wajiha was elected as the only female Cabinet Member of AMU Students’ Union in 2011-12 where she worked and campaigned for equal facilities for female students. Before joining UBC, Wajiha was working as an intern with United Nations Development Programme where she supported the documentation of Sustainable Development Goals, 2030 for the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Public Scholars Initiative UBC (2021)|IDRC Doctoral Research Award (2020)|Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2019)|Nehru Humanitarian Award, UBC (2018)|Graduate Global Leadership Fellowship (2017)|Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice Graduate Fellowship, UBC (2017)|R. Howard Webster Graduate Fellowship (2017)|Commonwealth Shared Scholarship to pursue Masters’ programme in Development Studies at London South Bank University (2014)|Gold medal for the outstanding merit in Masters’ programme in Human Rights, Aligarh Muslim University (2014)