Aalene Mahum Aneeq (Pakistan)

I graduated from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in 2015 with a bachelors in Politics and Economics, and a minor in History. In history, I focused on partition and its aftermath, particularly in the form of the massive refugee influx and the making of citizens in West Punjab.

At Oxford, I had the precious opportunity to study the messy and contested history of my country while being outside of it. I wrote term essays on gender, reform, and nationalism in South Asian history; for my dissertation, I focused on the famous but severely misunderstood and understudied figure of Pakistan’s Mother of the Nation (Fatima Jinnah). My dissertation focused on Fatima’s political career after Pakistan’s independence particularly as she became the first Muslim woman to have made a run for the head of the state against a military dictator in the 1965 elections. I conducted my research in the National Archives Islamabad using Fatima Jinnah’s private papers and local newspapers to study public opinion around election time. In doing so, my dissertation hoped to not only shed light on gender politics, but also to reflect on the broader political climate of the struggling post-colonial state during the 60s.

I am extremely grateful to the Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Graduate Scholarship for the deeply enriching and exciting experiences I had in Oxford. Without the Ertegun support, none of my work would have been possible! The provision of Ertegun House was a singular privilege, and I hope to continue being an active alumnus of the Ertegun community.