Biography

Dr. Farhat Taj

Short Biography
Dr. Farhat Taj is Pashtun from Jungle Khel, Kohat, in the northwest of Pakistan. She lives transnationally in Norway and Pakistan since August 2002.

Education
Dr. Farhat Taj has PhD degree in Sociology of Law (2013) from the University of Oslo, Norway. She is former NORAD fellow at the Center for Women and Gender Research, University of Bergen, Norway, where she did M.Phil in Gender and Development (2002-2004).

Dr. Taj’s M.Phil thesis is here.[1] University of Oslo’s report about her PhD thesis is here.[2]

Work Experiences
Dr. Farhat Taj is Associate Professor at the University of Tromsø, Norway.[3] She has also worked as Associate Professor at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences[4] and as Advisor (Health Services Research) at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Bergen, Norway.[5] 

Dr. Taj taught (2013-2016) Sociology as Assistant Professor at the Kohat University of Science and Technology, KUST[6] She also worked as Guest Lecturer, HEMIL Center, University of Bergen. She successfully led three field research projects (2011, 2011 and 2012) for the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, IDMC Geneva, on the conflict-driven displacement in the northwest of Pakistan. Dr. Taj also conducted independent research funded by the Norwegian Writers Association[7] and Fritt Ord[8]. The research is reported in her books, Taliban and Anti-Taliban (2011) and The Real Pashtun Question (forthcoming 2016). She also worked as Coordinator Empo Multicultural Resource Center, Bergen.

Dr. Taj also served as Assistant Director Colleges (1999-2000), Directorate of Colleges, Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and Planning Officer (2001-2002), Education Department, Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Between 2008-2011 Dr. Farhat Taj also contributed multiples articles to various newspapers of Pakistan as freelance journalist.  Occasionally, she contributes write-ups to the Norwegian press. She is also director and writer of a documentary film, ‘Waziristan- a culture under attack’.[9]

Research Interests
Islam(s), Islamism, terrorism, culture and law, culture and social change, human rights, gender, development, qualitative research methodology, internal displacement, humanitarian intervention

Research Area
Northern and Western Europe, South Asia and the Muslim world in general

[1] Dr. Taj’s M.Phil     Full text: pdf

[2] University of Oslo’s report about Farhat Taj’s PhD thesis

[3] University of Tromsø

[4] Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

[5] Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Bergen

[6] Kohat University of Science and Technology, KUST

[7] Norwegian Writers Association

[8] Fritt Ord

[9] Waziristan – A Culture Under Attack film