Arwa Hussain
Why do women's choices to live religious lives need to be understood and what role has social media played in shaping this choice?
Arwa Hussain holds a doctorate in Religion and was an international student. She also holds a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy in history from the University of Karachi, Pakistan. It was there that Arwa introduced participatory engagement methods in the study of the history of Pakistan. Her research was interdisciplinary and combined ethnography and social media platform analysis to question why women choose to live in religious communities and adopt visibly religious identities.
Her study participants belonged to the Dawoodi Bohras, a small Islamic community, of which Arwa herself is a member. Her research was deeply personal and drew on her own experiences to build an understanding of religious agency and identity. Her study was the first of its kind that shed light on this dynamic community and its women. Her doctoral research was funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture and Concordia.
