July 2025

During the trip, I visited:

Institute of Education, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) – Established in May 1922, before the independence of Pakistan, as an intermediate residential college. Today, LCWU is one of the most prestigious women-only institutions in the country, offering programs from Intermediate to Ph.D. levels. At LCWU, I met with faculty to discuss shared research interests, explore potential collaboration opportunities, and conduct interviews.

Institute of Education & Research, University of the Punjab – Also known as Jamia Punjab, the university was founded in Lahore in 1882 as the fourth university established by British colonial authorities in the Indian subcontinent. It remains one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in the region. I visited its Institute of Education and Research, as well as the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, where I engaged with faculty and researchers to exchange ideas on knowledge production in postcolonial contexts and explore avenues for future academic exchange.

I also participated in a two-day workshop (11–12 July 2025) organized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan in collaboration with other institutes at the Nisar Fatima Institute for Sirah and Women Studies, Johar Town, Lahore. The workshop focuses on the study of the Sirah (biography) of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and its contemporary applications, particularly in relation to women’s rights, gender studies, and social justice. During the workshop, I contributed to the thematic focus group on Social Justice and Welfare, Gender Studies, and Women’s Rights in the Perspectives of the Sirah of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). This discussion provided an opportunity to engage in critical dialogue with scholars from diverse academic backgrounds including gender studies, education, psychology, sociology, history, literature, and Islamic studies.

As part of my fieldwork, I conducted ten in-depth interviews with women scientists from four universities in Punjab, Pakistan, representing various disciplines and levels of seniority, including early-career researchers, mid-level academics, and senior professors. The interviews explored their professional trajectories, the challenges and opportunities they encounter within Pakistan’s higher education system, and their perspectives on how global hierarchies of knowledge influence research priorities and resource allocation. These rich narratives will serve as a valuable foundation for the project’s examination of how academic knowledge is shaped, challenged, and transformed in the context of postcolonial Pakistan, with particular attention to possibilities for achieving epistemic justice.