2027 AWIU Impact Grantees
Zarifa Ghafari
Afghanistan
Zarifa Ghafari is an internationally recognized Afghan leader, human rights advocate, author, and former Mayor of Maidan Shahr, whose life and work have become closely associated with women’s leadership and courage in the face of extremism and systemic exclusion.
As one of Afghanistan’s youngest female mayors, Zarifa served in an environment where women in public leadership faced extraordinary resistance and personal risk. Despite threats and violence—including the assassination of her father—she continued her work and emerged as a prominent international voice for Afghan women, democratic values, education, and accountable governance.
She is the Founder and CEO of Assistance and Promotion for Afghan Women (APAW), through which she works to expand opportunities, skills, economic independence, and civic participation for Afghan women. She also founded Peghla Radio, created to give women greater access to information and a platform for their voices.
Zarifa was named to the BBC’s 100 Women list and received the U.S. Department of State’s International Women of Courage Award in 2020. Her journey is documented in the Netflix documentary In Her Hands and in her memoir, Zarifa: A Woman’s Battle in a Man’s World. She holds two master’s degrees, one in Economics from Punjab University India, and a second master’s degree of Public Administration from Cornell University, with a concentration in Government, Politics and Policy Studies and a minor in Peace Studies.
Now living in Germany, Zarifa continues to advocate internationally for women and girls whose rights, education, voices, and futures have been restricted. Her work is grounded in a conviction that women should not merely be protected from injustice—they must have the power, resources, education, and space to shape the societies in which they live.
Dr. Zakira Hekmat
Afghanistan
President, Refugee Council of Türkiye | Founding President, ARSA | Founder & President, Afghanistan Women’s Rights Watch
Dr. Zakira Hekmat is an internationally recognized physician, humanitarian leader, and advocate for human rights and women’s rights, with nearly two decades of experience in humanitarian action, protection, migration, and policy advocacy.
She serves as President of the Refugee Council of Türkiye, Founding President of ARSA (Asylum Seekers and Refugees Solidarity Association), and Founder and President of Afghanistan Women’s Rights Watch. In 2026, she was selected as a Member of the UNHCR Global Advisory Board of Organizations Led by Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Persons for the 2026–2028 term, representing the perspectives and priorities of refugee-led organizations and displaced communities at the global level.
Through these leadership roles, Dr. Hekmat has built strong bridges between displaced communities, civil society, governments, and international institutions, bringing first-hand community experience and evidence from the field into policy dialogue and decision-making.
Her leadership has received significant international recognition. Her honours include the International Women of Courage Award (2023), presented by the U.S. Department of State, with recognition at the White House; Türkiye’s Woman of the Year Award (2021); the Shining World Compassion Award (2021); the Angela Burdett-Coutts Award for Migration (2021); the Peace Envoy of the Year Award (2020); and the FES Young Leaders Award (2007).
In 2024, BBC London featured Dr. Hekmat and her humanitarian work as part of its coverage highlighting 100 inspirational women. A BBC team travelled to document her work and activities, bringing international visibility to her leadership and her impact on refugees and women.
Dr. Hekmat’s unique combination of medical expertise, humanitarian experience, grassroots leadership, refugee representation, and international advocacy makes her a significant voice in global humanitarian and policy discussions. Her participation in high-level programmes contributes not only professional expertise, but also the authentic perspectives of communities directly affected by displacement and inequality. Through her work, she continues to advance refugee-led leadership, meaningful participation, women’s rights, and inclusive decision-making at local, national, and international levels.
Shahla Humbatova
Azerbaijan
Shahla Humbatova was awarded the International Courage Award in 2020. She has worked as a defense lawyer in Azerbaijan since 2013, and is one of a handful of legal advocates who have been consistently willing to defend individuals facing punishment for exercising their fundamental freedoms. She has bravely defended human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers, youth activists, members of the political opposition, and others. Her example has inspired other lawyers to better advocate for their clients in politically sensitive cases, and her courage in representing LGBT clients in a conservative culture has pushed civil society further down the path to tolerance. She is one of only two female lawyers to take these cases on in a difficult environment in which human rights lawyers have regularly been harassed and threatened in social media, suspended from practicing law, and disbarred.
Ajna Jusić
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ajna Jusić is a Bosnian human rights advocate whose work centers on justice, equality, and the rights of marginalized communities, especially children born of war and survivors of sexual violence. As President of the Forgotten Children of War Association, she has led national and international advocacy for recognition and reparations. With a background in psychology and a passion for transformative storytelling, she bridges activism, academia, and art to challenge stigma and drive systemic change. Her efforts have earned her multiple international awards for courage, peacebuilding, and human rights leadership, including the U.S. Department of State’s International Women of Courage Award in 2024.
Maximilienne Chantal Ngo Mbe
Cameroon
Maximilienne C. Ngo Mbe received the U.S. Department of State’s International Women of Courage Award in 2021. Maximilienne has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, courage, and perseverance through adversity in promoting human rights in Cameroon and Central Africa. She has been an outspoken voice among civil society actors, often sacrificing her personal safety, in the push for a peaceful solution to the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. She has called for an end to human rights abuses committed by separatists and security forces in the Northwest and Southwest regions and by security forces in the Far North. Maximilienne has also spoken out against the increased constraints placed on civil society, journalists, and political opposition by the Government of Cameroon. Her commitment to promoting human rights has been unwavering despite the intimidation, threats, and assault she has endured.
Latifa Ibn Ziaten
France
After losing her son in a terrorist attack, Latifa Ibn Ziaten has devoted her life to combating radicalization with tolerance and interfaith understanding. Born in Morocco, Ms. Ibn Ziaten moved to France as a young bride of 18. She raised five children, teaching them to value the education she never had and to embrace their dual cultural identities. In 2012, her life was shattered when an Islamist terrorist went on a killing spree that ended with the death of her son Imad, a French soldier. Desperate to channel her grief into something positive, she founded the Imad Association for Youth and Peace, starting a grassroots campaign to intervene in troubled communities. Ms. Ibn Ziaten crisscrosses France promoting interfaith dialogue and the importance of helping young people develop a positive identity and sense of responsibility. As France deals with terror attacks and reports of rising extremism, Ms. Ibn Ziaten is a brave and uniquely credible voice for hope and coexistence. She received the U.S. Department of State’s International Women of Courage Award in 2016.
Arbana Xharra
Kosovo
Arbana Xharra is an investigative journalist and International Woman of Courage Award recipient recognized in 2015 for her reporting on corruption, extremism, and human-rights abuses in the Balkans.
Forced into exile after surviving a brutal attack for her work, she rebuilt her life in the United States, where she continues to write, speak internationally, and advocate for women living under oppression. She is the founder and host of the Not Silent podcast, amplifying the voices of women from conflict zones around the world.
Jalila Haider
Pakistan
Known as the Iron Lady of Balochistan, Jalila Haider is a human rights attorney and founder of “We the Humans – Pakistan”, a non-profit organization to lift local communities by strengthening opportunities for vulnerable women and children. She specializes in defending women’s rights and provides free counseling and legal services to poverty-affected women. The first female attorney of her Hazara community, Haider led a peaceful hunger strike to recognize the right to life for the Hazara following a series of targeted attacks. Ms. Haider has taken up the cause of many other vulnerable communities. As Balochistan’s President of the Women Democratic Front and Balochistan’s branch of the Aurat (Woman’s) March, she fought against violence against women in public spaces, at work, and at home. Jalila received the U.S. Department of State’s International Women of Courage Award in 2020.
Zabib Musa Lora
South Sudan
Zabib Musa Loro is the Founder and Executive Director of Women for Justice and Equality (WOJE), a board member for the National Education Coalition (NEC) and a Regional Board Member of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA). With over a decade of experience in gender programming, policy advocacy, human rights, and peacebuilding, she is a leading advocate for women’s rights and gender equality in South Sudan. Her work has earned international recognition, including the 2025 International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award, the 2023 Outstanding Woman Human Rights Defender Award, and recognition among the 100 influential people in the world.
As a gender specialist, Zabib has extensive expertise in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) prevention and response, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), women’s economic empowerment, Women, Peace and Security, and human rights advocacy. She has previously served as Chairperson of the Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS Service Organizations (EANNASO) and the Network of AIDS Service Organizations in South Sudan (NASOSS), as well as Coordinator of the Civil Society Security Sector Reform Network. Her academic background includes Good Governance and Human Rights, Human Resource Management, and specialized training in Community Development Studies, Gender and Islamic Studies, Leadership, and Policy.
Under Zabib’s leadership, WOJE has grown from a grassroots initiative into a nationally recognized organization that has reached more than 510,000 people through programmes focused on protection, health, peacebuilding, governance and justice, and economic empowerment. She has strengthened partnerships among civil society, government, and international organizations while advancing evidence-based advocacy for women’s rights and ending early marriage in South Sudan. Her work continues to promote accountability, inclusive governance, and the meaningful participation of women in peace and security processes, while supporting South Sudan’s commitments under CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol.
Marini de Livera
Sri Lanka
Mrs. Marini de Livera is a Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and advocate whose work over several decades has focused on advancing equality, justice and the protection of women and children. She has specialised in Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights Law and has appeared in fundamental rights and other matters before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and courts across the country. She is the Founder and Chairperson of Sisters-at-Law, a women-led organisation established to promote equality and access to justice through legal aid, strategic litigation, advocacy, empowerment and protection services. Through Sisters-at-Law, she has pioneered initiatives supporting women and girls affected by violence, including legal assistance, community-based legal literacy programmes, and a safe shelter for women and girl survivors of violence.
Mrs. de Livera is also committed to making the law accessible to communities. Through grassroots training, legal awareness programmes and innovative initiatives including street theatre, she has worked to build legal literacy among children, young people, women and the wider public.
Her contribution to human rights and women’s empowerment has received national and international recognition. She was honoured as an International Woman of Courage in 2019 by the United States Secretary of State and received the Commonwealth Points of Light Award in 2020, recognising her work in advancing justice and supporting survivors of violence. In 2024, she was presented with the National Woman of Courage Award by then President of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Ranil Wickremesinghe, in recognition of her longstanding contribution to equality, justice and the empowerment of women.
In addition to her legal and advocacy work, Mrs. de Livera is currently involved in updating JAL Cooray’s Constitutional and Administrative Law, a prescribed legal text used in Sri Lankan law schools and held in university libraries internationally. Mrs. de Livera continues to champion a vision of a society in which women and children can live with dignity, safety and equal access to justice.
Agather Atuhaire
Uganda
Agather Atuhaire is a Ugandan lawyer, journalist and a human rights activist championing social justice and accountability through digital activism. Her investigations have exposed high-profile public corruption scandals and human rights violations. Notable among them is the Ugandan parliament’s overspending of public funds, the continued incarceration of the opposition leaders and supporters party in Uganda and East Africa, among others.
The social media campaigns run by her and her colleagues at Agora Centre for Research, dubbed “exhibitions”, have sparked national conversations and policy changes in many aspects.
She continues to champion human rights and accountability at a great personal risk and was disappeared and tortured by the Tanzanian government in May 2025 when she travelled with other activists and lawyers for the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Agather is the 2023 winner of the EU Human Rights Defenders Award and the 2024 International Women of Courage Award. She has also recently been named in the 2024 TIME100 Next annual list of top individuals who are defining the next generation of leadership.
Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh
Vietnam
Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh (Quynh Nguyen), also known as “Mẹ Nấm” or “Mother Mushroom,” is a Vietnamese blogger and human rights advocate. What began in 2006 as a motherhood diary grew into fearless commentary on corruption and injustice, leading to her arrest in 2016 and a 10-year prison sentence. Released and exiled to the U.S. in 2018, she continues her work for freedom of expression and democracy. She is also the founder of WeHear, a newly established nonprofit organization based in the U.S., dedicated to amplifying the voices of human rights defenders, supporting independent reporting, and promoting global awareness of human rights issues in Southeast Asia. Quynh received the U.S. Department of State’s International Women of Courage Award in 2017.
Fadia Thabet
Yemen
Fadia Thabet is a conflict analysis and peacebuilding practitioner focused on conflict transformation initiatives design and training. Fadia worked on countering violent extremism programs (CVE) in the MENA region focusing on al Qaeda and ISIS movements and gender-based violence prevention. Right now, she serves as a Program Manager with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, DC. Her focus is on settling Afghan refugees and asylees in the United States.
In 2019, Fadia graduated with a master’s degree in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation. She is the co-founder of Transformation Collaborative (Tcollab). She has been a keynote speaker for Harvard University, the Women’s Refugee Commission, the Nobel Women's Initiative and the University of North Carolina. She is a 2017 International Women of Courage Award recipient. In 2018, Fadia was recognized for her work in peacebuilding by the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Forum where she shared the stage as a panelist with the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize winner, The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet. She has appeared as a conflict analysis specialist on CNN and CBS news.
