Asila Wardak

Asila Wardak
Occupation	Diplomat

Asila Wardak is an Afghan human rights activist, women's activist, former diplomat, and the first Afghan woman elected as a member of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Independent Human Rights Commission.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Wardak is one of the co-founders of the Afghan Women's Network.[7][8] She served as Minister Counselor at the Afghanistan Mission to the United Nations.[1][2] She also worked as the head of the human rights issue for Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[1][9][5]

On 7 July 2019 Wardak attended the Intra Afghan Dialogue talks in Doha as a member of the Afghanistan High Peace Council.[10][11][12][13] Wardak also received violent threats in 2019 due to her activism.[14]

In 2020, Wardak was an Advisory Board Member for Mina's List, an organization dedicated to women's political participation and equality.[15]

Wardak is a 2022-2023 Harvard Radcliffe Institute fellow and a Robert G. James Scholar Fellow focusing on Policy & Practice.[16][17][18] On 28 July 2022 Wardak appeared alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Rina Amiri, U.S. Institute of Peace President Lisa Grande, Palwasha Hassan, Brookings Institution fellow Naheed Sarabi for the event "Engaging Afghan Women & Civil Society in U.S. Policymaking: The Launch of the U.S.-Afghan Consultative Mechanism" which marked the launch of the U.S.- Afghan Consultative Mechanism (USACM).[17][11]

References

1. "Afghan women leaders speak at the UN: "Give us a seat at the table."". UN Women – Headquarters. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
2. Programme, UN Development (2021-10-26). ""I can't stay quiet and watch"". Medium. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
3. Nichols, Michelle (2021-10-22). "At United Nations, Afghan women appeal: don't let Taliban in". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
4. George, Susannah; Tassal, Aziz; Hassan, Sharif (April 16, 2021). "With a sense of betrayal and relief, Afghans eye a future without U.S. troops". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
5. Nordland, Rod (2011-01-29). "Afghans Plan to Stop Recruiting Children as Police". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
6. Kakar, Palwasha (September 24, 2019). "How to push Taliban for compromise? Ask the women doing it". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
7. Cortright, David; Wall, Kristen (August 2012). "Afghan Women Speak Enhancing Security and Human Rights in Afghanistan" (PDF). www.peacewomen.org/. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
8. "Afghanistans only female governor comes to UK Parliament with ActionAid". news.trust.org. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
9. Nordland, Rod (2011-01-29). "Afghan Family Dies in Attack on Market". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
10. "Asila Wardak, a member of Afghanistan High Peace Council that is part..." Getty Images. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
11. Jakes, Lara (2019-08-16). "Peace Road Map for Afghanistan Will Let Taliban Negotiate Women's Rights". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
12. "U.S. Trying To Get The Taliban And Afghan Government To Start Negotiations". NPR.org. July 12, 2019. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
13. Desk, Monitoring (2020-10-17). "The Kabul Times. · Women's critical role in preserving Afghanistan's democratic progress". thekabultimes.gov.af. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2022-08-05. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
14. "658218e2c2". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
15. Casale, Teresa (July 9, 2020). "Reasons for Hope: Afghanistan's Most Recently Elected Women Leaders". www.minaslist.org. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
16. "Asila Wardak". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
17. "Events in support of Afghan women and girls". Onward for Afghan Women. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
18. Navone, Anthony (August 1, 2022). "A New Platform for Afghan Women and Civil Society". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2022-08-05.