Hi folks,

I have a Bachelors degree in English and a Masters degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. I've been a content writer for 2 years and for the last 2 years I'm working in the digital marketing field mainly writing technical content.

I'd like to pursue a PhD and my real interest lies in women's issues. I'd be interested in studying Muslim women in India because I'm a Muslim woman from India and I'm hoping to gain insight into the lives of women who are not as privileged as I am. Perhaps I'll end up making a difference in someone's life through my studies. But I'm not sure where to start from.

I think, I would like to study Muslim women's participation in the workforce in India. I did a quick Google search yesterday and I don't see many research going on on the subject. A lot of people have been researching on the education of Muslim women in India. In my experience, every muslim girl is pursuing education these days. In my neighbourhood, girl from orthodox families are pursuing Masters. Not really a big deal here.

How did I go about from here?

I'd be grateful for any advice on how to start preparing for a PhD.

Read. Read. Read!

Seriously just read as much as you can about your topic and field. It will give you better understanding of your PhD proposal and help you massively if you do a PhD. Try and find everything you can related to the topic so that you can understand what gap in knowledge you are investigating and how you will go about solving it. This will make writing any applications or grant funding a lot easier, as you have a deep understanding on what you want to study, ie look like a better student.

I wish you all the best and hope other people give you some additional advice!