Alina Naqvi

I am a WRoCAH-funded PhD researcher in the Department of History at the University of Sheffield. My research explores Muslim women’s engagement with waqf (charitable endowments) in colonial and post-colonial North India, examining how women used property, philanthropy, and piety to shape community life and assert social and economic agency. Drawing on deeds of endowments, court cases, and oral histories, my project highlights women’s contributions to everyday religious and charitable practices and reconsiders their place in South Asian legal and social history. By digitising and analysing these dispersed sources, I aim to create an interactive digital resource, Women and Waqf in South Asia, that brings together a curated selection of endowment deeds, interviews, and archival materials for scholarly and public use

Before starting my PhD, I completed an MSc in History at the University of Edinburgh. My broader interests include gender and legal history, Islamic charitable practices, archival cultures, and the digital humanities.