Biography

A recent graduate in Political Science and Comparative Human Development, along with a minor in Creative Writing, I am deeply committed to improving education in my native Pakistan. Specifically, the goal is curbing Muslim extremism, and empowering young people with their native identity and values. Since I was thirteen, I have been involved with progressive Islamic schooling. A new type of schooling, it aims to combine secular education with Islamic values to develop ‘well-rounded’ Muslims that abstain from militant extremism. The MPhil in Educational Leadership and School Improvement program at Cambridge, followed by an M.Ed. from Harvard University, will instruct me in various leadership techniques and how they may be adapted to progressive Islamic schools. With this training, I will work at a secondary school and the government in Pakistan. The Gates-Cambridge Scholarship is a lifelong gift, and I hope that I will be able to collaborate with this community wherever I go.