Natasha Ansari

Academic Background

A.B. Economics, Mount Holyoke College.

Past Experiences

Natasha is one of the lead researchers on the Value Chains pillar for the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) research consortium at the Collective. She has co-authoured the book A Microcredit Alternative in South Asia: Akhuwat’s Experiment (Routledge, 2018). She is also one of the campaign organizers for Girls at Dhabas, a feminist initiative working towards raising a conversation on women’s access to public space. Prior to the Collective she has worked on research projects at various organizations.

She tweets at @natashaansari

Reports and Publications at the Collective

  1. Nigel Poole, Jessica Agnew, Natasha Ansari, Bhavani R.v, Mar Maestre, Rashid Mehmood and Rohit Parasar, Being realistic about the contribution of private businesses to public nutrition objectives. Food Chain, 9:2, 91–102, Practical Action Publishing. June 2020.

    Keywords: LANSA

  2. Asad Sayeed, Natasha Ansari and Usman Naeem, Women’s mobility and labour force participation: Early evidence from Karachi. IGC Policy Brief No.37429 . April 2019.

  3. Asad Sayeed and Natasha Ansari, Women’s mobility, agency, and labour force participation in the megacity of Karachi. International Growth Centre Report No. C-37429-PAK-1. March 2019.

    Keywords: Karachi, Labour, Women

  4. Natasha Ansari, Women's Mobility and Labor Force Participation in Karachi: Some Preliminary Observations. Collective Blog. November 2018.

  5. Natasha Ansari, Rashid Mehmood and Haris Gazdar, Analysing Pakistan's Modern Dairy ValueChain Intervention. LANSA Working Paper Series, Volume 2018 No 29. June 2018.

  6. Rashid Mehmood and Natasha Ansari, The Dairy Reform That Wasn't. Collective Blog. April 2018.

  7. Natasha Ansari, Rashid Mehmood and Haris Gazdar, A Value-Chain Perspective on Wheat Flour Fortification in Pakistan. LANSA Working Paper Series, Volume 2018 No 27. April 2018.

  8. Natasha Ansari, Rashid Mehmood and Haris Gazdar, Going Against the Grain of Optimism: Flour Fortification in Pakistan. IDS Bulletin, Volume 49, Issue 1, pages 57-71. February 2018.

  9. Natasha Ansari, Rashid Mehmood and Haris Gazdar, 'Milk for Milk, Water for Water': Analysing Pakistan's Dairy Innovation . IDS Bulletin, Volume 49, Issue 1, pages 91-106. February 2018.

  10. Natasha Ansari and Ebad Pasha, Today's Lyari. Collective Blog. November 2016.

  11. Natasha Ansari, Rights Beyond Property: The Boohars of Rohi. Collective Blog. February 2015.

Press Publications

  1. Natasha Ansari and Rashid Mehmood, Land of milk. The News on Sunday (TNS). April 2018.

Collective Seminars


  1. Natasha Ansari and Asad Sayeed, Migration and Differential Patterns of Patriarchy: Contours of Female Labour Force Participation in Karachi, Collective Seminar 2019-05, 02 May 2019.

  2. Natasha Ansari and Rashid Mehmood, Milk for Milk, Water for Water: Analysing Pakistan's Dairy Innovation, Collective Seminar 2019-03, 19 Mar 2019.

  3. Natasha Ansari, A Microcredit Alternative in South Asia: Akhuwat's Experiment (with Shahrukh Rafi Khan), Collective Seminar 2018-06, 26 Sep 2018.