Aziza Ahmadyar

Aziza Ahmadyar is an Afghan politician and women's rights activist. She also founded the Afghan Women's Resource Center. Currently, Ahmadyar is a Foreign Liaison Director for the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in Afghanistan.

Biography

Ahmadyar was raised in Kunduz and went to Kabul University to study literature.[1] She came back to Kunduz to teach and coach girls' sports.[1] Ahmadyar credits her father's progressive views, "supporting her education and professional development" as part of her success later in life.[1]

In 1975, she was elected as a representative of Kunduz to help draw a new national constitution at the Constitutional Loya Jirga.[1] She was one of six women representatives at the event.[1]

In 1978, Ahmadyar's father was pressured to join the Communist Party and when he refused, he was assassinated in his home, causing Ahmadyar to become "skeptical of all party politics."[1] During the time of Soviet occupation in Afghanistan, Ahmadyar taught for some time in Kabul, but in 1989, she fled and was a refugee in Peshawar, Pakistan.[1]

In Peshawar, she became involved with the International Rescue Committee.[1] In 1989, she founded the Afghan Women's Resource Center (AWRC), which worked to provide professional educational tools to teachers.[2][3] When the Taliban withdrew in 2002, AWRC became the first Non-governmental organization (NGO) to establish a presence in Kabul.[4]

In 2005, Ahmadyar was chosen for the new position of Foreign Liaison Officer in the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.[1] In this capacity, she also discusses how security is a problem for women in Afghanistan.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Project for Afghan Women's Leadership: Afghan Women Leaders Speak" (PDF). Mershon Center for International Security Studies. Ohio State University. November 2005. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Afghan Women's Conference". Ohio State University. 2005. Retrieved 13 September 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Country Fact Sheet: Afghanistan" (PDF). IOM International Organization for Migration. October 2014. p. 25. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Afghan Women's Resource Center (AWRC)". GNWP. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  5. ^ Kitch, Sally L. (2014). Contested Terrain: Reflections With Afghan Women Leaders. University of Illinois. pp. 25–26. ISBN 9780252038709.