Thirty-five of the most academically outstanding social leaders in the US have been selected to be part of the 2025 class of Gates Cambridge US Scholars at the University of Cambridge, marking the Scholarship’s 25th anniversary.
We are delighted to announce that Muaz Chaudhry PhD in Multi-Disciplinary Gender Studies, has been awarded a Gates US Scholarship for 2025-26 and we send our warmest congratulations to Muaz on this great achievement.
Muaz Chaudhry
- Scholar-elect
- United States, Pakistan
- 2025 PhD Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies
- King's College
The social battles I fight today started in my late teens, facing a world that expected me to fail and sought to isolate me for embracing my true self. But I chose to carve my own path, embrace my identity, and defy societal expectations. My journey has always been about ensuring that marginalized communities don’t endure the same struggles I faced. With relentless determination, I graduated as valedictorian in college, earned the Humanitarian and the Dean’s Distinguished Leadership Awards at the University of Chicago, was named an Obama Scholar, and earned numerous other accolades—now hanging on the wall of my childhood home in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Through Gender Rights Watch (GRW), the organization I co-founded, I continue to advocate and conduct research to improve the lives of millions. The Gates Cambridge Scholarship opens yet another chapter in my mission for justice and equality. My PhD research, focused on the Economics of Gender, explores the determinants and consequences of labour market exclusion for trans and queer communities in South Asia. I dedicate this scholarship to my late Amajan (grandmother), who served as a motivation throughout my journey, and to the oppressed minorities I aim to uplift through this prestigious platform.
Previous Education
University of Chicago Public Policy
University of Chicago Social Sector Leadership
Lahore School of Economics