Shafiqur Rahman Khan is a practitioner–scholar whose teaching focuses on the intersection of gender, migration, and human rights, drawing on more than two decades of grassroots experience addressing bride trafficking, forced marriage migration, and gender-based exploitation in India.
His teaching is grounded in the belief that meaningful learning emerges from the interaction between lived experience, research, and critical inquiry — connecting field-based knowledge with academic analysis through lectures, seminars, and short courses.
Courses and teaching areas
Gender, Migration and Marriage Systems
- Bride trafficking and cross-regional marriages in India
- Gender imbalance and demographic change
- Marriage markets and migration patterns
Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery
- Contemporary trafficking systems in South Asia
- Recruitment networks and migration pathways
- Legal frameworks and policy challenges
Grassroots Movements and Social Change
- Community organising against gender violence
- Survivor-centered approaches to justice
- Role of civil society in addressing exploitation
Community-Based Approaches to Combating Trafficking
- Early warning systems within communities
- Role of local leadership in prevention
- Survivor reintegration strategies
Field-Based Learning: Understanding Bride Trafficking Systems
- Field case studies from affected regions and community responses to trafficking
- Understanding cross-regional marriage systems, linked with academic analysis
Sample course
Bride Trafficking, Gender Imbalance and Marriage Migration in India — examines the relationship between demographic change, migration, and trafficking within marriage systems, exploring how declining sex ratios and economic inequalities have contributed to cross-regional marriage practices. Students analyse structural drivers, lived experiences, and policy and community responses.
Selected lecture topics
- Bride Trafficking in India: Understanding a Hidden Migration Crisis
- Gender Imbalance and the Marriage Squeeze
- Migration, Masculinity and Rural Marriage Markets
- Community Responses to Human Trafficking
- Grassroots Leadership in Human Rights Movements
Selected field case studies
- Cross-regional marriage and social isolation
- Community responses to bride trafficking
- Reintegration challenges for survivors
- Housing and long-term security
Teaching formats
Guest lectures — 60–90 minute sessions for university courses or conferences.
Short courses and seminars — multi-day workshops on trafficking, migration, and gender inequality.
Academic collaborations — seminars, research discussions, and visiting scholar programmes.
