Salwa Tareen

Matriculated September 2018

Research Interests

South Asia, Islamic charitable giving, anthropology of religion, politics, gender

About

Salwa is primarily interested in issues of religion, gender, and the politics of care in Muslim South Asia. Situated at the intersection of these broad themes, her current work focuses on Islamic charitable organizations in Karachi, Pakistan. Despite significant rates of poverty, Pakistan is regularly named as one of the most charitable nations in the world by international research groups. While many attribute this level of generosity to practices of Zakat and Sadaqah within the Islamic Republic, others criticize the local religious charities who receive such offerings as simply self-interested or even extremist. When the activities of these organizations are examined more carefully, however, a more nuanced understanding of care, welfare, and gendered labor comes to light.

Before arriving at Boston University, Salwa completed her Bachelor of Arts at Kalamazoo College and Master in Theological Studies at Harvard University. During her time at Harvard, she was awarded the Dean’s Summer Internship Award in order to explore issues of charitable giving and religious fundamentalism in Pakistan in collaboration with a local social advocacy organization.

In addition to academic research, Salwa is a published poet and essayist. Her creative writing seeks to explore the intersection of language, identity, and power. Salwa’s work has appeared in Muslim Women Speak, Kajal Magazine, The Aerogram, and Protest Magazine, among others.

Awards & Grants

• Lake Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. (awarded April 2023 for AY23-24).
• Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant. (Summer 2023).
• Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) Short-term Research Grant. (July 2022).
• Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant. (Summer 2022).
• Long-Term (GRAF) Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship.  (Fall 2021 & Spring 2022). 
• Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant. (Summer 2020).
• Junior CORE Curriculum Writing Tutor Fellowship. (Fall 2019, Spring 2020).
• Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant. (2019).
• Boston University Dean’s Fellowship. (Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2022).

Publications

• Published: “Crowdfunding Nayā Pakistan: Development, Nationalism, and the Diamer- Bhasha Dam,” [Special Issue: Centering Muslims in Global Humanitarianism, The Muslim World Journal, Vol. 112 (1): 151-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/muwo.12425
• Forthcoming: “Charity Chowrangi: Giving and Receiving across Karachi’s Urban Landscape,” [Special Issue: Karachi Bricolage: Ordinary Politics in the State of Emergency]
• In preparation: “New Sons of Karachi: Digital Performances of Care in Pakistan,” Journal of Muslim Philanthropy and Civil Society.