Academic and professional focus on Yemeni conflict, also the subject of my thesis, as a result opportunities working with Yemeni issues at both the local and international levels.
Through my academic pursuits and various internships, I have garnered a particular interest in conflict mediation, civil conflict, and the strategies that do and do not work in respect to the International communities’ efforts in alleviating conflict or humanitarian crises. As a Pakistani woman and as the member of a highly persecuted religious minority in Pakistan, the Ahmadis, and being a current asylum seeker in the United States, the issues of human rights, and the importance of NGO presence as a check on the power of the state, is particularly significant to me.
Additionally, my academic focus is on issues of human rights, particularly human rights in regions affected by violence and war, I am currently writing my thesis focusing on the Yemeni conflict, so this is a topic both of which I have conducted quite a bit of research and also one I am looking to gain some real-world experience with. I have also had some previous experience working on Yemeni issues, both local and international, at a Yemen-based think tank in New York.
In my work with both the Sana’a Center for Research and Amnesty international’s USA branch I have been grappling with this issue more specifically as a researcher involved in contributing to both the organization’s positions and reports. My intern position with Amnesty aided me in honing and further developing my research skills. In my work with the Sana’a Center my responsibilities included keeping up with all correspondences for the organization, scheduling events and discussion, organizing and updating contact lists, ensuring the timely publication and dissemination of donor reports and much more. My work at the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office was additionally developmental as my responsibilities included organizing and planning the annual Spring seminar for the group, a four-day fundraising seminar.
