Postdoctoral Affiliate
I am currently the Anthropology in Action Research Fellow at the Centre for Mental Health and Anthropology in Action (CAMHRA) at SOAS University of London. At CAMHRA, I work closely with the Policy and Partnerships team, collaborating with community organisations, local authorities, and NHS mental health services to co-design and deliver ethnographic pilot projects aimed at tackling mental health inequalities in London.
I completed my DPhil in Anthropology at the University of Oxford, where I remain affiliated as a Common Room Member at Green Templeton College. My doctoral research, supervised by Professor David Gellner and Dr Lys Alcayna-Stevens, focused on public responses to Covid-19 and state-led interventions in Pakistan from March 2020 to July 2021. Through interviews with government officials, healthcare professionals, and individuals across diverse socio-economic contexts in both urban and rural areas, I examined how structural inequalities shaped the pandemic experience.
Framed by a political economy perspective and Charles Rosenberg’s dramaturgical model of epidemics, my research found that class, gender, and ethnic marginalisation significantly exacerbated the pandemic’s effects. Despite positive media portrayals, many state-led policies were biopolitical and often failed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. These findings hold key insights for building more equitable, responsive public health strategies.
I also hold an MPhil in Social Anthropology from Oxford, where I explored well-being and happiness in informal settlements under the looming threat of eviction. This work challenged mainstream economic indicators by foregrounding community-defined values and daily resilience.
Research Interests
- Intersectional Inequalities
- Covid-19
- Mental Health
- Pandemics & Epidemics
- Disasters & Crises
