Lead Researchers
Niaz Asadullah
Niaz Asadullah is Professor of Development Economics in the Faculty of Economics and Deputy Director at the Centre for Poverty and Development Studies (CPDS), Malaya University. Professor Asadullah's fields of research include development economics, labour economics, and the economics of education. His current research focuses on issues relating to the quality of secondary schools, causes and consequences of extreme poverty, inequality of opportunity, inter-generational mobility and subjective well-being. Professor Asadullah has a D.Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford.
Zaki Wahhaj
Zaki Wahhaj is Reader (Associate Professor) in Economics at the University of Kent. Dr Wahhaj's fields of research include development economics and economic theory. His current research deals with the themes of social norms and household decision-making, access to microfinance and issues relating to early marriage and female education. Dr Wahhaj has a PhD in Economics from the Massachussets Institute of Technology, USA.
Samia Huq
Samia Huq is an anthropologist and Associate Professor at the Department of Economics and Social Science at BRAC University, Dhaka. Dr Huq's fields of research include religious revival, religious identity, politics, social movements and secularism. Her current research includes cultural activitism of Bengali muslims of East Pakistan and the impact of secondary secular and madrasah education on gendered norms and practices. Dr Huq has a PhD in Anthropology from Brandeis University, USA.
Senior Affiliates
Sajeda Amin
Sajeda Amin is a senior associate at the Population Council, New York, with years of experience in implementing and evaluating empowerment programmes for girls and women. Her previous and ongoing work has focused on a variety of themes including the livelihoods of adolescent girls, child marriage prevention, female factory work and time-use patterns, and microfinance and financial literacy. Dr Amin has a PhD in sociology and demography from Princeton University.
Sara Hossain
Sara Hossain is a barrister at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and an honorary executive director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST). BLAST is a network of over 2000 lawyers nationwide which provide legal aid to poor and disadvantaged clients on a range of issues including family law. Hossain played a key role in drafting Bangladesh's first comprehensive legislation on violence against women, which became law in 2010. She was one of the recipients of the 2016 International Women of Courage Award awarded by the US Secretary of State.