Hawa has taught law at at various universities, including Macquarie University, UNSW and UWS for almost a decade. Her main area of interest is early Greek philosophy, history of economic thought and jurisprudence. She takes an interdisciplinary approach to research and teaching, drawing on legal, historical, political and philosophical ideas and themes. She has a BA (Philosophy)/LLB, Diploma in Ancient Languages, and is currently completing a Masters in International Law/International Relations at UNSW.