Fatema Jafari

Academic background: Bachelors degree in Law and Political Science

Areas of interest: peace and secirity, womens rights

Fatema Jafari is a women’s rights advocate and former councilwoman of Herat Provincial Council for more than 10 years, where she serves on a number of committees related to women’s rights in Afghanistan. As head of the family support committee for three years, she facilitated the creation of an umbrella group of roughly 80 women’s organizations to help coordinate their efforts.

Previously she participated in three Loya Jirga Assemblies (consultative councils) for peace and security issues from 2009–2013 and recently the Peace Loya Jirga on April 2019. She has worked on several advocacy campaigns opposing violence against women and has pressed for greater respect for women’s rights at the national level.

During 2014-2019, Fatema also worked as the deputy director of Neswan Association, an Afghan civil society organization dedicated to women’s empowerment through providing vocational training. On April 2012 Fatema was invited to the U.S. for the International Visitors Leadership Program, where she attended training and meetings on good governance.

Fatema graduated with a bachelors degree of law and political science in 2014. She participated in two prestigious fellowships in the United states - The Reagan Fascell Fellowship at the National Endowment for Democracy and the Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellowship at Yale University in 2016.  As a result Fatema wrote a book titled “Womens political participation in Afghanistan”.

Fatema is a frequent contributor to media programs and TV shows, speaking about women’s rights and women’s political participation. She is currently a member of the steering committee of PROMOTE-MUSHARIKAT coalitions and a member of the peace and access to justice committee (2017), and also the Mothers of Peace Program of High peace Council (2018).

Recently she participated in high level peace negotiation training held by USIP for Afghan peace activists in Istanbul. Fatema is a member of the advisory board of Voice of Women Organization which mainly runs shelters for women, and the Women Integrity for Social Empowerment organization. Fatema recently did research on the role of Afghan women in fighting corruption in Afghanistan as part of her policy leader fellowship at the European University Institute (September 2019 - July 2020).