Sumbal Bashir is a PhD researcher at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University. Her research looks into the role of digital media in contemporary feminist activism and protests. Her academic interests include digital media, feminist activism, digital surveillance, and the intersection of gender and technology. She is supervised by dr. Wendy Harcourt and dr. Karin Astrid Siegmann, and is part of the Civic Innovation (CI) Research Group at ISS.

She has an extensive experience in international development and social impact, and has contributed to various national and international projects and programmes on gender, education in emergencies, migration, and climate change. 

She was selected for a policy fellowship at the School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Her collaborative research on Feminist Digital Development examined the gender mainstreaming and digital policies within Africa-EU digital transformation initiatives.

Sumbal holds a Master’s degree in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship from the Fox School of Business at the Temple University (Philadelphia, USA), where she was a Fulbright scholar.