I am a social scientist with over a decade of experience of working in the development sector and academia in South Asia, parts of Africa and the UK.
My practice and politics is deeply rooted in my lived experiences of various economic, political, social and gendered inequalities. Having grown up in post-colonial hinterlands in Assam, India, I have experienced poverty up close and personal. Throughout my childhood and youth, I navigated unbelievable odds including near death experience when an abusive ex tried to kill me. My feminist awakening happened in the intensive care unit in a hospital I was admitted in. There was no going back after that. Over a decade of work in the gender and development space and now in the UK academia, my personal and professional experiences define me and my feminism. A feminist academic and activist, my mission is to diversify and make education accessible for everyone, especially for racially minoritised communities. My expertise lies in interdisciplinary research, advocacy, influencing and policy. I have led research on issues of inequality, development financing, and decolonial approaches to policymaking. I excel at translating complex social issues into actionable insights. In summary, I am living the dream of my grandmother who was married as a child bride and who couldn’t go to school. I am living the dream of my mother who couldn’t complete her education due to poverty and inequality. I am challenging patriarchy by refusing to accept traditional social and gender norms. My feminism is intergenerational.