Biography

As an interdisciplinary scholar, I examine global policies and discourses shaping everyday lives of Pakistani people. My academic journey is an intersection of philosophy, history, anthropology, gender and cultural studies. This path began in Karachi while studying & teaching Philosophy that was further shaped in Lahore during my MPhil in History. Eventually, my study about the impact of Global Discourses about Education on identity and representation of Pakistani women (and Men) after 9/11 in Tokyo, Japan, and later my fellowship in Higher Education from the US, added a new layer to how I understand identity, culture, and global belonging of Pakistanis.
My research examines the global construction of Pakistani femininities/masculinities across public, private, and digital spaces. Drawing on digital and field ethnographic methodologies, I study how these identities and representations take shape in their everyday life — on the streets, in homes, and across digital worlds. I use both fieldwork and online ethnography to understand how people craft their worlds.
I have extensive teaching experience of two decades in institutions across Pakistan - from its northern tip to southern toe. I teach students to read these glocal (global-cum-local) stories critically through the lens of feminist theories, global perspectives, cultural discourses, postcolonial debates, and ethnography, to ask how do our stories fit into the global narrative?

Education

• PhD in Global Studies, Sophia University (Tokyo, Japan) 2022
• MS/MPhil in Global Studies, Sophia University (Tokyo, Japan.) 2016
• MS/MPhil in History, Government College University Lahore. (Lahore, Pakistan.) 2012
• Masters in Philosophy, University Of Karachi (Karachi, Pakistan.) 2004
• BA/BSc(Hons) in Botany, Zoology, Chemistry., Kinnaird College, University Of Punjab. (Lahore, Pakistan.) 2002

Teaching Areas

Experience

Journal Papers

• Abbas, Sidra, Saima Khan, Asifa Alam, Junaid Ahmad, and Uzma Mahboob. (2026). "From Global Climate Crisis to Local Gendered Vulnerability: Lived Experiences of Pakistani Workingwomen during Smog in Lahore.." International Journal of Emerging Multidisciplinaries: Social Science , Vol. 5 (1) , pp. 313-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54938/ijemdss.2026.05.1.724 [Link]
• Khan, Saima (2026). "Navigating Women’s Empowerment in the Global Era: Intra-Gender Competition among Pakistani Working Women through Internalized Patriarchal Masculinity and Fractured Sisterhood.." Social Sciences & Humanity Research Review. , Vol. 4 (1) . DOI: https://doi.org/10.63468/sshrr.286 [Link]
• Khan, Saima (2025). "Is Feminism a Saviour Ideology for Post-Colonial Pakistani Women in Global Age? Intersections of Colonialism, Orientalism and Globalization.." Journal of Social and Organizational Matters , Vol. 4 (1) , pp. 733-46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56976/jsom.v4i1.395. [Link]
• Khan, Saima (2024). "Global Influence, Local Impact: Education Shaping Pakistani Women.." Journal of Political Stability Archive , Vol. 2 (4) , pp. 265-279. DOI: https://doi.org/10.63468/jspa.2.4 [Link]
• Akram, Afshin, Arifa Tahir, Asifa Alam, and Saima Khan. (2023). "Global Climate Change Adaptation: Mitigating Flooding Impacts in Pakistan.." International Journal of Innovations in Science and Technology, , pp. 648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33411/ijist/534.
• Khan, Saima (2018). "Empowerment of Women through Education – Emancipation or Enslavement: A Case Study of Pakistani Women.." Proceedings of International Human Rights Conference , pp. 165-70. [Link]
• Khan, Saima (2017). "Womanhood in Pakistan: Role of Nationalism, Islam and Colonial Legacy.." IASTEM . [Link]
• Khan, Saima (2013). "Policy of Pakistan Government on Women Issues; A Consequence of Foreign Influence.." Journal of Law and Social Policy , Vol. Volume 2 (II) .
• Khan, Saima (2012). "Feminism: Manifestation of Power in Colonial World.." Society Humanity and History , Vol. 44 .

Book Chapters

• Khan, Saima (2024). All Women Are Equal, but Begum Sahibas Are More Equal than Others: Exploring Opinions of Upper-Middle-Class Pakistani Women about Education , Chapter #5. In Frontier Ethnographies: Deconstructing Research Experiences in Afghanistan and Pakistan (pp.128-148). Nafay Choudhury and Annika Schmeding Berghahn Books. ISBN: 9781805397618
• Khan, Saima (2024). In the shell of layered identities: PHD experience in Japan as a Pakistani Muslim woman and mother , Chapter #24. In Internationalization of the Doctoral Experience Models, Opportunities and Outcomes . Elspeth Jones, Björn Norlin, Carina Rönnqvist, Kirk P. H. Sullivan Routledge. ISBN: 9781032329680

Awards/Achievements

• Best Conference Paper Award (2022), LUMS, Lahore, Pakistan..
• Best Conference Paper Award (2017), IASTEM International Conference, Tokyo, Japan.
• Academic Excellence Award (2016), Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan..
• Sophia University Graduate School Scholarship. (2016), Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan..
• MEXT Scholarship (2015), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan..
• Scholarship for New Graduate Student (2015), Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan..
• Position holder in PPSC for Lecture of Philosophy (2008), PPSC..
• Silver medal (2005), University of Karachi, Pakistan..