Shaharzad Akbar

Shaharzad Akbar is an Afghan human rights defender and the founder and executive director of Rawadari, an independent organisation that documents human rights violations in Afghanistan and advocates for accountability and justice. She previously chaired the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), where she took on abuses by all parties to the conflict and pushed for the rights of women, children and victims of war. She has also been an outspoken advocate for Afghan civil society and has addressed international bodies, including the UN, on the human rights situation in the country. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, she has continued her work from exile, speaking out against the erosion of women’s rights and calling for international attention to accountability for abuses.