From a difficult marriage in Pakistan to a PhD in Cambridge – one Newnhamite’s inspiring story

Aliya Khalid

Aliya Khalid is from Peshawar in North West Pakistan where she says ‘a girl is supposed to be voiceless and faceless’. She escaped from a difficult marriage after she was banned from seeing her family and her husband threatened to take her children away from her.

Aliya is now a  PhD student at Newnham and a Gates Scholar after she was recognised for her outstanding academic ability and her potential to be a transformative leader.

Her research focuses on the experience of Pakistani mothers and whether maternal education influences access to school and learning for girls.

This is her story