The 2022 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity recognized Jamila Afghani for her decades of work in women's rights and civil activism within Afghanistan. Born in 1976 in Kabul, she navigated childhood health challenges and the violence of the Soviet War before building an educational network that now operates across twenty-two provinces in her home country.
Early life and migration
During her childhood in Kabul, Afghani contracted polio, which necessitated the use of a leg brace. At age fourteen, she sustained a gunshot wound to the head amid the violence of the Soviet War. Following the onset of the Afghan civil war in the 1990s, she relocated to Peshawar, Pakistan. There, she completed both bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Peshawar.
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In 2001, she established the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO) to address the scarcity of female teachers and barriers to schooling. Her organization reaches approximately 50,000 women and children. NECDO programs include instruction in sign language, gender issues, and conflict resolution. One initiative incentivized boys to recruit girls for library attendance, successfully increasing local engagement.
Islamic advocacy and gender training
Afghani challenges the view that Islam justifies violence against women by engaging directly with religious leaders. She developed gender-sensitive training for Imams to emphasize women's rights from an Islamic perspective. By 2015, this program included 6,000 Imams, leading to sermons in twenty influential mosques in Kabul. She asserts that providing religious justifications is essential for protecting women's rights in a deeply conservative, religious culture.
Awards and recognition
Her civil rights work has received international recognition. In 2008, she was presented with the Tanenbaum Peacemaker in Action Award. After being a finalist for the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity in 2017 and 2021, she received the prize in 2022. She also maintains an active role as an executive member of the Afghan Women's Network.
Fast facts
- Born: 1976, Kabul
- Citizenship: Afghanistan
- Education: University of Peshawar
- Languages: Urdu, English, Persian, Arabic
- Organization: Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization
- 2022 Award: Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity
- 2008 Award: Tanenbaum Peacemaker in Action Award
Questions readers ask
What is the primary focus of NECDO?
NECDO facilitates education for women and children, provides training in conflict resolution, and hosts classes on gender issues.
How does Afghani integrate Islamic teachings into her activism?
She creates gender-sensitive training materials for Imams, helping them use the Quran to promote fairness and women's rights in their sermons.
Achievements
- Educated at University of Peshawar
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