Muqadasa Ahmadzai

Muqadasa Ahmadzai (Dari: مقدسه احمدزی; born 1992/1993) is an Afghan 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.

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 the founder and Director of the Kor Association, which aims to raise awareness of women's rights in Afghanistan.^[3]

In 2018 she ran for election to the Afghan parliament.^[5]

Awards

Ahmadzai was awarded a N-Peace Award, by the United Nations Development Programme.^[6] She was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021.^[2]