Biography
Iqra Kakar is a Chevening Scholar and development professional with expertise in anthropological research, policy guidelines, and migration studies. Her last role was as a Policy Associate at the Pakistan Alliance for Maths and Science (PAMS) in Quetta, providing strategic support for policy development, program implementation, and research in education, climate change, and health sectors in collaboration with the Government of Balochistan.
Iqra holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology of Development and Social Transformation from the University of Sussex, UK, where she explored precarity and collective action through her thesis on the Haq Do Tehreek indigenous rights movement in Gwadar. She previously earned a BS in International Relations from BUITEMS, focusing on social cohesion and identity politics in a case study of Hazara ghettoisation in Quetta.
Her professional background spans policy research, capacity-building for refugee communities, curriculum development, and advocacy. She has contributed to initiatives with the International Centre for Refugees and Migration Studies (ICRMS), the Organization for Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), and international NGOs.
Iqra’s research and writings address pressing social issues, including migration, gender, and governance. She authored an op-ed in *The Friday Times* on systemic healthcare gaps in Balochistan and presented her research at the Conference on Geopolitics from Below, organized by BUITEMS in collaboration with King’s College London.
Research & Policy Interests
- Education Policy & Social Transformation
- Migration Studies & Refugee Rights
- Indigenous Movements & Collective Action
- Governance, Precarity & Development Anthropology
- Climate Change & Water Policy
Honors and Awards
- Chevening Scholar (2022–2023)
- Congo Virus Outbreak Reveals Critical Gaps in Balochistan’s Healthcare System (The Friday Times, 2023)
