Sara Wahedi

Last updated

Sara Wahedi
Sara Wahedi.jpg
Born
Sara Wahedi

(1995-01-23) 23 January 1995 (age 29)
Nationality Afghan-Canadian
Education Columbia University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, Businesswoman

Sara Wahedi (born 23 January 1995) is an Afghan-Canadian tech entrepreneur and humanitarian. [1] She is the Chief Executive Officer of Civaam [2] , founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ehtesab, a civic technology startup in Kabul, Afghanistan. [3] [4]

Contents

Biography

Wahedi was born in Kabul. Wahedi and her family emigrated from Kabul and settled in Canada in 2005. [5] Wahedi founded Ehtesab in 2018. [6] [7] She started the company with $2,500 of her own savings and later attracted investment from a New York-based tech design entrepreneur, and Netlinks, one of Afghanistan's largest IT companies, which contributed an additional $40,000. [3] Ehtesab enables its users to report on local incidents, establishing it as Afghanistan's first citizen engagement platform. [8] It provides real-time security alerts and updates in three languages. [6] The app combats misinformation by providing real-time updates on Kabul's security, energy, and traffic situations. [9] In 2021, it proved especially valuable to residents during the bombings, roadblocks, and attacks that occurred as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan. At that time, the company employed 20 people. [10] The app is developing covert platforms to enable women to discreetly access healthcare, education, and employment services, thereby bypassing Taliban surveillance and restrictions. [8] [11]

In 2024, Wahedi earned a bachelor's degree in urban studies with a concentration in architecture from Columbia University. [12] She also serves on the board of Rukhshana Media, a news organization focused on women’s issues in Afghanistan. [13] She has also completed an internship with Apple, where she worked with teams specializing in artificial intelligence and machine learning. [14]

Accolades

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan</span> Country in Central Asia

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's capital and largest city. According to the World Population review, as of 2023, Afghanistan's population is 43 million. The National Statistics Information Authority of Afghanistan estimated the population to be 32.9 million as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliban</span> Islamist militant organization in control of Afghanistan

The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is an Afghan political and militant movement with an ideology comprising elements of Pashtun nationalism and the Deobandi movement of Islamic fundamentalism. It ruled approximately 75% of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, before it was overthrown by an American invasion after the September 11th attacks carried out by the Taliban's ally al-Qaeda. The Taliban recaptured Kabul in August 2021 following the departure of coalition forces, after 20 years of Taliban insurgency, and now controls the entire country. The Taliban government is not recognized by any country and has been internationally condemned for restricting human rights, including women's rights to work and have an education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treatment of women by the Taliban</span> Gender policies, punishments of the Taliban

The treatment of women by the Taliban refers to actions and policies by two distinct Taliban regimes in Afghanistan which are either specific or highly commented upon, mostly due to discrimination, since they first took control in 1996. During their first rule of Afghanistan, the Taliban were notorious internationally for their misogyny and violence against women. In 1996, women were mandated to wear the burqa at all times in public. In a systematic segregation sometimes referred to as gender apartheid, women were not allowed to work, nor were they allowed to be educated after the age of eight. Women seeking an education were forced to attend underground schools, where they and their teachers risked execution if caught. They were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone, which led to illnesses remaining untreated. They faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashraf Ghani</span> President of Afghanistan from 2014 to 2021

Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai is an Afghan former politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabul University</span> University in Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul University is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, whose prime minister at the time was his younger brother, Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan. Approximately 22,000 students attend Kabul University. In August 2021, before the Taliban takeover, nearly half were female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Afghanistan</span> Rights of females in the country Afghanistan

Women's rights in Afghanistan are severely restricted by the Taliban. In 2023, the United Nations termed Afghanistan as the world's most repressive country for women. Since the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban gradually imposed restrictions on women's freedom of movement, education, and employment. Women are banned from studying in secondary schools and universities, making Afghanistan the only country to prohibit females from studying beyond the sixth grade. Women are not allowed in parks, gyms, or beauty salons. They are forbidden from going outside for a walk or exercise, from speaking or showing any part of their face or body outside the home, or even from singing or reading from within their own homes if they could be heard by strangers outside. In extreme cases, women have reportedly been subjected to gang-rape and torture in Taliban prisons.

The mass media in Afghanistan is monitored by the Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC), and includes broadcasting, digital and printing. It is mainly in Dari and Pashto, the official languages of the nation. It was reported in 2019 that Afghanistan had over 107 TV stations and 284 radio stations, including 100s of print media and over 1,800 online media outlets. After the return of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in 2021, there was a concern that the mass media will significantly decrease in the country. The number of digital media outlets is steadily increasing with the help of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and other such online platforms. IEA's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid suggested that the media should be in line with Sharia and national interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shukria Barakzai</span> Afghan politician

Shukria Barakzai is an Afghan politician, journalist and Muslim feminist. She was the ambassador of Afghanistan to Norway. She is a recipient of the International Editor of the Year Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roya Mahboob</span> Afghan entrepreneur and businesswoman

Roya Mahboob is an Afghan businesswoman. She founded and is CEO of the Afghan Citadel Software Company, a full-service software development company based in Herat, Afghanistan. She has received attention for being among the first IT female CEOs in Afghanistan, where it is still relatively rare for women to work outside the home. On 18 April 2013, Mahboob was named to TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2013 for her work in building internet classrooms in high schools in Afghanistan and for Women's Annex, a multilingual blog and video site hosted by Film Annex. This was the 10th anniversary of the TIME special edition. The Women's Annex platform give the women of Afghanistan and Central Asia a platform to tell their stories to the world. The TIME magazine introduction to Mahboob was written by Sheryl Sandberg who is the chief operating officer of Facebook and the author of "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead". U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Mahboob and other Afghan women entrepreneurs at the International Center for Women's Economic Development at the American University of Afghanistan. She is also known for her work with online film distribution platform and Web Television Network Film Annex on the Afghan Development Project. She is an advisor at the Forbes School of Business & Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prerna Gupta</span> American businesswoman

Prerna Gupta is an American businesswoman. She currently is the CEO of Telepathic Inc., which developed the smartphone app Hooked. She cofounded several startups focusing on music, dating, and short-stories. In 2011, she was named one of the most influential women in technology by the Fast Company magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Enonchong</span> Cameroonian technology entrepreneur

Rebecca Enonchong is a Cameroonian technology entrepreneur and also the founder and CEO of AppsTech. She is best known for her work promoting technology in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney Wolfe Herd</span> Founder and former CEO of Bumble (born 1989)

Whitney Wolfe Herd is an American entrepreneur. She is the founder, executive chair, and former CEO of publicly traded Bumble, an online dating platform, launched in 2014. She is a co-founder of Tinder and was previously its Vice President of Marketing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hibatullah Akhundzada</span> Supreme leader of Afghanistan since 2021

Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, also spelled Haibatullah Akhunzada, is an Afghan cleric who is the supreme leader of Afghanistan in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime. He has led the Taliban since 2016, and came to power with its victory over U.S.-backed forces in the 2001–2021 war. A highly reclusive figure, he has almost no digital footprint except for an unverified photograph and several audio recordings of speeches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State–Taliban conflict</span> 2015–present armed conflict in Afghanistan

The Islamic State–Taliban conflict is an ongoing insurgency by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The conflict initially began when both operated as rival insurgent groups in Nangarhar; since the formation of the Taliban's state in 2021, IS-KP members have enacted a campaign of terrorism targeting both civilians and assassinating Taliban members using hit-and-run tactics. The group have also caused incidents and attacks across the border in Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Taliban offensive</span> Military offensive by the Taliban in Afghanistan

The 2021 Taliban offensive was a military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Kabul-based Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan that had begun following the United States invasion of the country. The Taliban victory had widespread domestic and international ramifications regarding human rights and proliferation of terrorism. The offensive included a continuation of the bottom-up succession of negotiated or paid surrenders to the Taliban from the village level upwards that started following the February 2020 US–Taliban deal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall of Kabul (2021)</span> Taliban capture of the capital of Afghanistan

On 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban after a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021. It was the final action of the War in Afghanistan, and marked a total victory for the Taliban. This led to the overthrowing of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under President Ashraf Ghani and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban.

Rukhshana Media is an Afghan women's media organisation created in November 2020 in memory of Rukhshana, a young woman stoned to death in 2015 in Ghor Province for having fled with a lover after a forced marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan</span> International relations of Afghanistans Taliban government

The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since taking control by force in 2021, overthrowing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The takeover was widely criticized by the international community, and no countries have extended de jure diplomatic recognition to the new regime, despite nominally maintaining relations with Afghanistan. The Taliban has campaigned for international recognition since the takeover. Several countries have vowed never to recognize the Islamic Emirate, and others have said they will do so only if human rights in the country are respected. Some countries have accredited Taliban diplomats at the chargé d'affaires level despite not recognizing the Islamic Emirate. In September 2023, the People's Republic of China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to the country since the takeover, and in January 2024 recognized the Taliban's envoy to China; however, the PRC still does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The United Arab Emirates also accepted a Taliban appointed diplomat as Afghanistan's new ambassador in August 2024.

Zahra Joya is an Afghan journalist. She is the founder of Rukhshana Media, an outlet in Persian and English which she runs from exile.

Summia Tora is an Afghan campaigner for women's and refugee rights and a social entrepreneur. In November 2023, she was included on the BBC's 100 Women list.

References

  1. Murgia, Madhumita (August 22, 2021). "Homegrown app helping Kabul residents steer clear of danger". Financial Times. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  2. "Sara Wahedi | Blavatnik School of Government". www.bsg.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Afghan-Canadian entrepreneur's new mobile app helps keep civilians updated on nearby security issues". The Globe and Mail. August 24, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  4. Parkin, Benjamin; Manson, Katrina; Kazmin, Amy (August 14, 2021). "US sends more troops as Kabul braces for Taliban onslaught". Financial Times. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  5. "Q&A: Afghan Tech CEO Sara Wahedi". New York City News Service. May 26, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Duffy, Kate. "The founder of a Kabul-based startup says she deleted details of her female staff to protect them as the Taliban neared the city". Business Insider. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  7. Sengupta, Trisha (September 24, 2023). "Entrepreneur shares pic of Kabul's women-run eatery before Taliban takeover". Hindustan Times .
  8. 1 2 Fair, Vanity (January 23, 2024). "A Brave New World". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  9. "Refugee advocate develops app to bring real-time protection to people in Afghanistan". www.unrefugees.org. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  10. Mansoor, Sanya (October 13, 2021). "This Tech CEO Helps Fellow Afghans Feel Safer Every Day". TIME. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  11. "Fear over dystopian change to nation's shop windows: 'Erasing women'". Yahoo News. January 22, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Sara Wahedi". interview-her.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  13. "Rukhshana Media Board of Trustees". Rukhshana Media. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  14. "Sara Wahedi GS'24 named Clarendon Scholar | Undergraduate Research and Fellowships". urf.columbia.edu. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  15. 1 2 "BBC 100 Women 2021: Who is on the list this year?". December 7, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  16. "Sara Wahedi GS'24 named Clarendon Scholar | Undergraduate Research and Fellowships". urf.columbia.edu. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  17. "Sara Wahedi". Forbes. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  18. "Sara Wahedi". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  19. "Introducing the Winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 supported by TFG Asset Management | One Young World". www.oneyoungworld.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  20. "Forbes 30 Under 30 2023: Social Impact". Forbes. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  21. "76 Students Inducted into the GS Honor Society". urf.columbia.edu. Retrieved June 21, 2024.