Research Overview

My research interests include Islam, gender and media with a particular focus on premodern and (post)colonial gender configurations and its representations in fictional media. These interests have led me to ask important questions about how the gender category has been (re)configured through different periods in history and how these historical gender configurations come to bear upon the contemporary legal configurations and media representations of the gender category.

My PhD research specifically focuses on the khawajasara/hijra as a case study. I examine the legal configurations of khawajasara/hijra from premodern to postcolonial times. Additionally, I explore how these configurations are represented in the fictional media in Pakistan.