Alia Amirali (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

National Unit of Awami Workers Party in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

(2016–2019). She is also a lecturer in Gender Studies at

Quaid-i-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad ( ur, ; commonly referred to as QAU), founded as University of Islamabad, is a ranked 1 public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedi ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. She is a PhD candidate at

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, Gender Studies department.

Early life and education

Amirali is daughter of Pakistani activist and physicist,

Pervez Hoodbhoy Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy (Urdu: ;;born 11 July 1950) is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist who serves as a professor at the Forman Christian College and previously taught physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University. Hoodbhoy is also a promine ...

and Hajra Ahmed, niece of renowned philosopher and intellectual

Eqbal Ahmed Eqbal Ahmad (1933 – 11 May 1999) was a Pakistani political scientist, writer and Academia, academic known for his Anti-war activist, anti-war activism, his support for resistance movements globally and academic contributions to the study o ...

. Amirali was born in Islamabad and got early schooling from Khaldunia High School, Islamabad. She did her Bachelor's in Liberal Arts from Hampshire College, USA in 2006. She did M.Phil in anthropology from

in 2010. She is enrolled in PhD program at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Political beginning

Amirali has been attending political rallies and demonstrations since her early age. According to an interview, she said that she got involved in organizing in the local anti-war effort in 2001 during the U.S. invasion of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. She went abroad for college between 2002 and 2006, and returned to Pakistan in between during the climax of the Okara peasants’ movement, which had resurfaced at the time. Ever since she has been involved in different movements like Katchi Abadi Alliance (protesting evictions of informal settlements in Islamabad).

Awami Workers Party

Amirali was initially associated with a political group known as "Peoples’ Rights Movement" which later merged with other Left parties leading to formation of a new political party in Pakistan, called Awami Workers Party. Amirali worked as an active political worker of AWP Islamabad-Rawalpindi unit and served as deputy general secretary of Punjab AWP.

Women's political organizer

Amirali mostly worked with the women among student, peasant or the slum dweller communities and tried to give political voice to their invisible existence. She has worked extensively for women's participation in politics.

Women Democratic Front

Amirali is a founding member of Women democratic front saying that women, regardless of whether they are elite or non elite, need to struggle in a country like Pakistan where patriarchy is so entrenched and public spaces are so male dominated.

Student rights

Amirali was responsible for the upsurge in student activism after a long hiatus.

National Students Federation

Amirali was also the General Secretary of National Students Federation Punjab from 2008 to 2012. NSF remained inactive and without a formal organisational presence in Pakistan between the late 1980s and when it was reactivated in the late 2000s, with Alia a major factor in the mobilisation of young people in general, and students in particular during and the anti-emergency protests of 2007. The NSF later merged with other student organisations to become the Progressive Students Federation.

Conferences and seminars

She has been a speaker at multiple panels and conferences. She was a speaker at the Socialist Alliance 9th National Conference at Green Left Weekly 2013 Fighting Fund, Australia. She has also been guest speaker at IDRAC,

Habib University Habib University (HU) ( ur, ) is a private liberal arts university located in Karachi, Pakistan. Funded by the House of Habib, the Habib University Foundation was established in 2010, and was chartered in 2012 as an independent university. B ...

where spoke of the different movements, as well as the lack of representation of the largest and most exploited section of labour-women. She has been working as a lecturer and researcher for a number of years.

Publications

She has published "

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

: a case study of Pakistan's peacemaking praxis" in which she explored and analysed why many peace processes failed and how the state penetrated into the province of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amirali, Alia 1984 births Living people Pakistani activists 21st-century Pakistani women politicians Pakistani socialists