The University of Hyderabad (UoH) is celebrating a significant international milestone as Ms. Afiya Fathima, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, won the prestigious Best Science Slam Award at the IMISCOE PhD School 2026. Hosted by Eurac Research in Bolzano, Italy, from May 18–23, 2026, the internationally acclaimed doctoral summer school brought together elite emerging researchers from across the globe to engage in intensive scholarship on migration, diversity, and transnationalism.
Working under the guidance of Prof. Pushpesh Kumar (Department of Sociology, UoH), Afiya presented her compelling doctoral research during the Science Slam—an innovative academic forum designed for researchers to communicate complex work to a broad audience in an accessible, engaging manner.
Her presentation, titled “When Malabar Matriliny Meets Gulf Patriarchy: Negotiating Kinship, Migration, and Gender in a Muslim Matrilineal Community,” deeply impressed the international cohort. Utilizing a rich combination of ethnographic fieldwork, genealogical methods, and archival research, her study untangles how Gulf migration has significantly transformed matrilineal kinship among Mappila Muslims in Kerala, effectively reshaping inheritance practices, family authority, and gender dynamics.
The Best Science Slam Award uniquely celebrates Afiya’s outstanding ability to communicate dense sociological data with exceptional clarity, creativity, and public engagement. Furthermore, the accolade highlights the profound academic relevance of her research within contemporary global debates on gender, kinship, and social change.
Afiya expressed her sincere gratitude to Prof. Anurekha Chari Wagh (Department of Sociology, UoH) for her invaluable support in facilitating this high-impact international academic opportunity.
The IMISCOE PhD School stands as a premier global platform offering cutting-edge scholarship, mentorship from leading migration experts, and elite global networking. The University of Hyderabad warmly congratulates Ms. Afiya Fathima on this stellar achievement, which spotlights UoH’s unwavering commitment to fostering internationally recognized, high-impact doctoral research.