She was born in 1987 in the Jawzjan province of Afghanistan to a mixed Arab & Uzbek family. During the Taliban rule in Afghanistan between 1996-2001, she lived as a refugee in Pakistan. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Smith College in the U.S.A. in 2009, and her master’s degree in development studies from Oxford University in 2011.
She was partner and chief operating officer with QARA Consulting, a firm owned and run by young Afghans in Kabul which she co-founded in 2010. She worked as an analyst for the Free and Fair Elections Foundations, and as a journalist for BBC Afghanistan. As the Country Director of the Open Society Foundation Afghanistan between 2014 and 2017, she carried out activities supporting civil society and the media in peacebuilding, human rights, and promoting tolerance. In 2017, she was selected by the World Economic Forum as Young Global Leader. Starting from 2017 until 2018, she worked as a Senior Advisor to the Afghan President on High Development Councils and in this capacity, coordinated the prioritization of development projects and programs for high level decision-making. Between 2018-2019, she worked as a Senior Advisor for UNESCO Afghanistan and acted as Deputy on the National Security Council for Peace and Civilian Protection and from 2019 until 2022, she acted as the Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, recently abolished by the Taliban. After the Taliban took power in August 2021, she had to leave her country just as the scores of nationals of Afghanistan.
Her writing has appeared in the international and Afghan media, including the Washington Post, Newsweek, Al Jazeera, and CNN, as well as in academic journals. She is currently an Academy Fellow in Human Rights at the Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs, Chatham House in the United Kingdom as well as working to launch a new human rights organization focused on Afghanistan. Shaharzad Akbar exerts relentless effort to amplify the voices of women and children who have been subjected to severe restrictions in exercising their right to education, freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly and their right to travel in Afganistan, where the Taliban regime has caused rapid deterioration in the struggle for human rights, the right to political and civic participation, the right to education, health, employment, the right to sexual and reproductive health, and anti-discrimination. She resolutely works to put an end to the gender discrimination rampant in her country by consistently dedicating herself to mobilising the international community through global solidarity among women against this grave women’s rights crisis.
Warm hellos and greetings,
Let me first express my gratitude to the Hrant Dink Foundation and the esteemed judges for this immensely humbling recognition. Knowing about the Foundation’s amazing work, it was beyond my wildest imagination to be considered for this incredible award. I am truly honoured.
This recognition carries special significance for me for several reasons. It comes at a time of deep and painful reflection about the events of last year in Afghanistan leading to the closure of civic space, and a full regression of women’s human rights, amounting to a gender apartheid. At a difficult time like this, I want to utilize this platform to bring attention to brave women of Afghanistan, fighting Taliban’s oppression every day, inside and outside the country, particularly the woman activists inside the country who exemplify incredible courage. They are the ones who truly deserve all recognition, admiration & support. I am also humbled to be recognized by a Foundation in our broader region, going beyond the organizations based in the West, and through this connection, to have an opportunity to consolidate relationships with the inspiring human rights movement in Turkey.
As an activist from Afghanistan, Hrant Dink’s struggle carries deep resonance for me. Hrant Dink’s journey & his commitment to building an inclusive movement for change is a reminder of the importance of long-term, thoughtful grassroots work that recognizes and honours diversity and differences, and bridges the cracks. It carries inspiration for activists everywhere, but particularly in our context in Afghanistan where we have suffered conflict, fragmentation and discrimination for decades and have to find ways to collective healing. Reading about Hrant Dink’s work I have also reflected on the constructive role for diaspora activists. In the past few months, I have been grappling with the dilemmas of working from exile. Working from outside Afghanistan, I must always be aware that I lack the full context and will not firsthand experience the impact of policies that I might advocate for. I must thus remain humble in the role I can play and follow the guidance of the activists and communities challenging Taliban’s brutality every day.
It has been over a year since the military takeover of Kabul by the Taliban and the situation seems hopeless. Women have lost their legal rights to education, freedom of movement, employment and political participation. Every morning, it pains me that Afghan girls are kept away from secondary education for one more day. Another day of their life is spent in the mass imprisonment imposed by the Taliban. This injustice will have implications for generations to come.
Afghan women have been challenging this oppression by marching on the streets and demanding “bread, work, freedom”, despite Taliban’s intimidation and violence. Beyond marching on the streets, women have been challenging the oppressive rules through running secret schools, book clubs, graffitiing their demands at night and holding protests in their homes, with videos later posted to the social media. Taliban have responded to women’s peaceful protests by implementing a brutal crackdown, harassing, illegally detaining and torturing dissidents and their family members. Despite this, the women of Afghanistan are undeterred and continue the resistance.
Afghan women in diaspora have also been fighting to support their sisters. We have spent the last year trying to mobilize solidarity from political leaders around the world to keep Afghanistan on the agenda and to maintain pressure on the Taliban. While the international response from the foreign political leaders have been shameful & insufficient, we will continue to hold them to account. We are also calling on the global feminist movement and the human rights movement, to stand in solidarity with the Afghan people. To not normalize Taliban’s misogyny. To amplify the voices and demands of the Afghan women on the ground for “bread, work, freedom” and the full range of their human rights.
As we, the activists from Afghanistan, try to forge a new path after all the loss and in the midst of hurt and divisions, I will be reminded of Hrant Dink’s powerful words:
“Come, let us first
Understand each other…
Come, let us first
Respect each other’s pain…
Come, let us first
Let one another live”
May we find a way to keep the light on for each other. May we stand unbowed against injustice, as Hrant Dink did, and as the incredible woman protesters across Afghanistan do. May we renew our commitment to solidarity and healing every day.
Thank you.