She has a PhD and MA from the University of Melbourne, Australia; and a master’s degree in political science from University of the Punjab, Pakistan. She has previously served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at College of Arts & Sciences, Qatar University; Program Director International Development, RMIT University, Australia; and as Assistant Professor, Political Science in Pakistan. She was a Fulbright scholar in 1996 and was also awarded ‘Asia Fellow Award’, Ford Foundation in 2004-05 to work in urban slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh.