Muqadasa Ahmadzai

Afghani social activist, politician and poet

Muqadasa Ahmadzai (born 1992/1993) is an Afghani social activist, politician and poet who ran in the 2018 Afghan parliamentary election. She is the recipient of a N-Peace Award and was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021.

Biography

Ahmadzai was 24 years old in 2017.^[1] She is a social activist and poet from Nangarhar, Afghanistan.^[2]^[3] Initially her family were opposed to her activism and she endured physical punishment when they discovered her activities.^[1] Whilst a teenager, she published a book of poetry, and it was her uncle's appreciation of this that changed her family's opinion of her work.^[1]

A former member and Deputy Speaker of the Afghan Youth Parliament,^[3]^[4] during the COVID-19 pandemic she worked to support women and communities against disinformation.^[2] She was a founder of the National Youth Council in Afghanistan.^[3] She represented the voices of Afghan women as part of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Peace Dialogues.^[3] Alongside other women she began a campaign of mural painting with women's rights messages in Jalalabad.^[1] She also established a network of 400 women who travelled the country, including into areas at the time that were controlled by the Taliban, to women who were survivors of domestic violence.^[1] She is founder and Director of the Kor Association, which aims to raise awareness of rights that women in Afghanistan have.^[3]

In 2018 she ran for election to the Afghan parliament.^[5]

Awards

Ahmadzai was awarded a N-Peace Award, given by the United Nations Development Programme.^[6] She was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021.^[2]

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Muqadasa Ahmadzai.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "The young Afghan woman fighting for women's rights - The Migrant Project". www.themigrantproject.org. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "BBC 100 Women 2021: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Afghan Women Experts". Onward for Afghan Women. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ "In Taliban Strongholds, a Woman Stands for Peace". Georgetown Institute of Women Peace and Security. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ Humayoon, Haseeb, and Mustafa Basij-Rasikh. Afghan Women's Views on Violent Extremism and Aspirations to a Peacemaking Role. United States Institute of Peace, 2020.
^ "Alumni 2018". N-PEACE. Retrieved 8 February 2022.