Khalida Ghous

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Khalida Ghous (Urdu خالدہ غوث) is a Pakistani scholar of International Relations & Human Rights and an activist who was awarded the first PhD in human rights from her country.^[1]

Currently, she is the managing director of the Social Policy and Development Center, a Karachi-based Pakistani research center.^[2]

Khalida was educated at the University of Karachi, and holds MA & PhD degrees in International Relations. She did her PhD under the supervision of jurist Khalid M. Ishaq on the Institutionalization of Human Rights with particular reference to the European Court of Human Rights.^[3]

Khalida completed her first term as Chairperson of the Department of International Relations at the University of Karachi from September 2003 to September 2006. She is the Director of the Centre of Excellence for Women's Studies at the University of Karachi, and an Honorary Director of both the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and the Pakistani Center for Democracy Studies. She has been involved in policy-making both with the Federal and Provincial Governments on gender-related issues. She is a member of several professional bodies and a nominee of the Sindh Government in the monitoring committee constituted on Women Empowerment. She also teaches at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. Human rights, the Far East and Pakistan's foreign policy are her areas of interest.^[1]

In 2006, Khalida was one of the 18 prominent people who sent an open letter to President Pervez Musharraf, calling on him to resign either as president or as Chief of Army Staff.^[2]

She has been a delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights & was invited by the European Union to deliver a talk in Brussels. Dr. Khalida is deeply involved in the Pakistan-India back-channel diplomacy being an active member of India-Pakistan Neemrana initiative.^[3]

She is the author of a book on the rights of women in Islam and co-editor of Pakistan's Foreign Policy: Problems and Prospects.

Other notable positions include, but are not limited to:

• Managing director, Social Policy and Development Center, Karachi.
• Professor and ex-chairman, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi.
• Ex-Director, Center of Excellence for Women's Studies, University of Karachi.
• Ex-Editor, Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Karachi.
• Honorary Director, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
• Honorary Director, Pakistan Center for Democracy Studies.

• Delegate in the General Assembly of World University Service in Lima, Peru, 1988.
• Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Fellowship, July 1992.
• Attended Salzburg Seminar on Transnational Law and Human Rights, 12–24 July 1992, Salzburg, Austria.
• Visited United States under the International Visitor's programme on Conflict Resolution Tensions in South Asia. 10 Oct – 8 November 1992.
• Represented Asia-Pacific Region in International World University Service Delegation at the 50th and 51st Session of United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 20–27 February 1994 and February 1995, Geneva.
• Asia Fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington D.C. 1 June – 30 July 1999.

• Ghaus, Khalida, 2006 Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia and Within Pakistan, New York: Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA)
• Ghaus, Khalida, 2002 Female homebased workers: the silent workforce, Karachi: Centre of Excellence for Women Studies, University of Karachi.
• Ahmed, M. and Ghaus K., (ed.), 1999 Pakistan: Prospects and Perspectives, Karachi: Royal Book Company

• Bio details, University of Karachi
• Social Policy and Development center
• Henry L. Stimson Center
• An interview with the Financial Post
• Important role in Indo-Pak track II diplomacy
• Voice of America takes her comments
• The Pioneer editorial
• President of Pakistan's website
• Dawn Pakistan's largest english daily praises Dr. Khalida in Editorial
• International Conference
• Activism