Dr. Insha Qayoom Shah is a researcher, educator, and writer working in the fields of literature, mythology, memory, and gender studies. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Kashmir and her doctoral research, explores how contemporary women writers reinterpret classical myths to challenge patriarchal narratives and recover marginalized female voices. Her broader research interests include women’s writing, myth and memory, cultural narratives of war and conflict, and the relationship between literature, identity, and history.

Insha has teaching experience in English literature and language, where she has taught courses on topics such as women’s writing, the works of Saadat Hasan Manto, and engineering ethics. Her teaching emphasizes critical engagement with texts and encourages students to connect literature with social, ethical, and cultural questions.

She is the co-founder of the Umran Academic Research Association (UARA), an initiative that promotes interdisciplinary research and dialogue among early-career scholars. Inspired by the work of Bruce B. Lawrence, UARA focuses on themes of pluralism, cross-cultural exchange, and the intellectual traditions of the Bhakti-Sufi heritage.

Alongside her academic work, Insha writes poetry and practices painting, reflecting her interest in creative expression as a way of exploring memory, identity, and lived experience across cultural and intellectual borders.

Participant in: August 2024 Fellowship: The Arts as a Tool for Peacebuilding