Orzala Nemat is an Afghan scholar and civil society activist. Dr. Nemat holds PhD in Development studies from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), MSc from University College London (UCL) and has been a Yale World Fellow class of 2008. As an expert in political ethnography, her research interest includes development and conflict, gender, governance and borderlands studies. Her PhD thesis in Development Studies focused on local governance relations that results from external interventions.
Dr. Nemat was born, lived and worked in Afghanistan (and for fourteen years in Pakistan as refugee), she experienced different aspect of life in varying environments. Following completion of her doctoral studies and two years of teaching at SOAS (UK), Nemat moved back to her home country, serving briefly as the Afghan president's advisor on local governance and then leading Afghan Think Tank Afghanistan Research & Evaluation Unit (AREU). As an Afghan scholar with over 16 years of experience in development practice, activism and women’s rights, Dr. Nemat brings an enriching experience into her new career path, leading AREU, one of the top research think-tanks in the Central Asia region and Afghanistan. Dr. Nemat provides regular analysis through her writings, talks, media appearance and scholarly work on conflict, development, gender and the way local power relations are affected by global interventions.
