Muqadasa Ahmadzai

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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.

Contents

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]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The young Afghan woman fighting for women's rights - The Migrant Project". www.themigrantproject.org. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "BBC 100 Women 2021: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Afghan Women Experts". Onward for Afghan Women. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  4. "In Taliban Strongholds, a Woman Stands for Peace". Georgetown Institute of Women Peace and Security. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  5. 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.
  6. "Alumni 2018". N-PEACE. Retrieved 8 February 2022.