Student Spotlight: Farwa Zaidi
My name is Farwa Zaidi (she/her/hers) and I am an Urban Strategy Masters student at Drexel University. I completed my bachelors in Political Science at CUNY Baruch, and have spent many years working in the non-profit sector with the goal of advancing the opportunities of society's most marginalized communities, especially poor, Black, and immigrant women.
Tell us about your research.
My master's research concerns the links between food apartheid and carcerality, especially in formerly redlined Philadelphia neighborhoods. I aim to find whether an inability to access healthy foods can impact a person's relationship with the criminal and carceral justice system, and whether food access in redlined neighborhoods plays a role in the policing of such neighborhoods.
Why is this research important to you?
In my time living in Philadelphia, I have noticed the prevalence of food apartheid in many low-income neighborhoods. As someone who identifies as an abolitionist, I began to wonder how food access plays a role in my abolitionist worldview- how does food access (or lack thereof) contribute to the society that I aim to build? As I advanced in my degree, I realized I wanted to answer these questions through my research.
Deirdre Mask’s The Address Book was a major influence in my research interests and my approach to urban studies.
You can follow Farwa on Instagram @everydayfarwa