Dr. Abda Khalid

Senior Consultant - Resource Governance & Urban Security

Dr. Abda Khalid is a Senior Research Advisor with Manāra Policy & Practice, specializing in gender analysis of resource governance, community policing, and legal pluralism in post-conflict and transitional settings. With over a decade of research and advisory experience spanning Pakistan, Norway, and international development institutions, she brings distinctive expertise at the intersection of gender justice, human security, and urban governance particularly in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Dr. Abda currently serves as Assistant Professor of Development Studies at COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, where she teaches and conducts research on gender dynamics in development interventions. From 2022 to 2024, she completed a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at ICT4COP, examining how information and communication technologies can strengthen community policing in post-conflict regions of Pakistan. This research built on her doctoral work at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, which analyzed gendered dimensions of resource management and human security in areas emerging from conflict. She has collaborated extensively with international research institutions including the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), conducting qualitative research that surfaces the lived experiences of communities navigating post-conflict transitions. Her research focuses on how gender shapes access to resources, security, and justice where formal and informal governance systems conflict. She examines legal pluralism as the messy reality communities navigate daily. She has provided gender expertise to multiple international organizations including the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the International Muslim Women's Union (IMWI), and the International Research Foundation (IRF), advising on program design, evaluation, and policy frameworks. Dr. Abda holds a PhD in International Environmental and Development Studies from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and a Master's degree in Development Studies from COMSATS University Islamabad. Beyond formal academic and advisory work, Dr. Abda runs a discussion circle engaging young people on critical development issues, creating space for dialogue that bridges academic analysis and lived experience. When not researching or teaching, she indulges her passion for music, art, and fashion, which she describes as her "weaknesses."