Meena Poudel, PhD is a Nepali sociologist with a long and committed history of development work, research and feminist activism. She has worked on issues affecting lives of socially excluded and politically marginalized groups in Nepal and other parts of the south, southeast and central Asia, western Europe, and North Africa. Meena has previously worked in various national and international organizations including Oxfam GB, USAID, UN systems and academia.
Before returning to migration policy work, Meena was a research fellow for the period of 2008 – 2013 at Newcastle University under the Economic and Social Research Council — ESRC Res-062-23-1490 project titled 'Post Trafficking in Nepal: Sexuality and Citizenship in Livelihood Strategies'. This project was part of implementing her key findings of PhD research (2004-2008) funded by Newcastle University. She was also a faculty member of College of Development Studies of Purbanchal University, Nepal for the period of 2011 – 2016 where she was teaching gender and social inclusion course. Meena was also visiting faculty in 2014 -2017 for Mewar University, School of Sociology, Rajasthan, India to supervise Nepali PhD researchers.
In recent years Meena is exploring various aspects of the lives of women, men and children vulnerable to and experienced unregulated migration in south (Afghanistan) and central Asia (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan) as well as North Africa (Libya). She has written widely on these issues that include a single-authored book: Dealing with Hidden Issues: Social Rejection Experienced by Trafficked women in Nepal.