This multi-sited project proposes to analyze various processes of transnational cultural engagement of Afghan migrants (of Pashtun ethnicity) in their current host country (Sweden), the former host country of (Pakistan), and the country of their origin (Afghanistan). The proposed project applies the concept of "segmented assimilation" which analyzes the integration of Afghan migrants in the current host country in the context of their trans-cultural ties to the country of their origin, and the country of their first refuge. Thus, it builds on existing work in the field of social and cultural anthropology on transnational refugee migration but from a specifically Pashtun vantage point. This project also focuses on ways intergenerational family relationships are transformed through the specific details of trans-nationalism in the lives of separated families.
I did MS in Asian Studies from Lund University Sweden and Peace and Development Studies from Linneaus University. I have previously worked in Islamic Relief in Azad Jammu Kashmir (Pakistan) as a community development officer during the devastating earthquake that occurred in 2005. Before entering into Ph.D. studies, I worked as a teacher in Sweden. Currently, I am researching migrants living in Sweden, their transnational connections, intergenerational relations, integration in the host country, cultural purity and mixing, and back and forth movement are the main focus of my study.