# Hasina Jalal

Hasina Jalal (Persian: حسینه جلال) is an advocate for women's rights and democracy in Afghanistan. In 2014, Jalal was elected by public vote to receive the "N-Peace Award" from the UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Office and the UN Secretary General's Special Advisor on the University for Peace. She co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the National Association of Afghanistan Civil Society (NAACS) and the first alliance of South Asian women on Women's Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (SAFA) in Sri Lanka. Jalal served in the Afghan government as a research team lead and policy expert at the Presidential Palace and as a Policy Advisor to Minister and Director of Program Design and Donor Coordination Directorate at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of the Government of Afghanistan.

## Personal life

Jalal is the daughter of Massouda Jalal, Afghanistan's first female Presidential candidate and former Minister of Women's Affairs, and Faizullah Jalal, former Professor of Law and Political Science and Vice-Chancellor of the Kabul University. Hasina was forced to seek asylum in the U.S. after the Taliban’s takeover, leaving her homeland behind. Despite the challenges of exile, she continues to advocate for Afghan women’s rights, using her platform to amplify their voices and influence international policies.
She is fluent in Persian, Pashto, English, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Hindi/Urdu, and has proficiency in Punjabi, Arabic, and Uzbek languages.

## Education

Hasina Jalal has obtained her undergraduate degree in economics with a minor in political science from the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI)--a Central University in India—as an ICCR scholar. Before joining the JMI University, she had studied economics at the Kabul University for one academic year. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the American University of Afghanistan as a USAID scholar and a Master of Arts in Women's and Gender Studies from the University of Northern Iowa as a Fulbright scholar. Jalal pursued graduate studies at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Public and International Affairs at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. She has also been awarded several prestigious fellowships, including those from the Elinor Ostrom Fellowship, School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and the Center for Governance and Markets.

## Career

Hasina has established and managed several civil society organizations in Afghanistan and at the South Asian regional level. Since 2012, she has been the Co-founder and Executive Director of the National Association of Afghanistan Civil Society (NAACS) and the first alliance of South Asian women on Women's Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (SAFA) in Sri Lanka.
Jalal has served in the government of Afghanistan as a Research Team Lead and Policy Expert at the Presidential Palace/Administrative Office of the President of Afghanistan where she led a team of researchers, conducted policy-oriented research, and presented findings and recommendations to the former President of Afghanistan. She also worked as a Policy Advisor to the Minister and Director of Program Design and Donor Coordination Directorate at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of the Government of Afghanistan. In this role, she managed the initiatives and programs funded by foreign aid to the oil, gas, and mining sectors of Afghanistan, and provided policy advice to the Minister of Mines and Petroleum. Additionally, Hasina taught economics to Bachelor of Business Administration students at several universities in Kabul.
Hasina's work in gender equality, human rights, women's empowerment, and democracy has been recognized by several regional and international awards and honors: In 2012, Asian Rural Women’s Coalitions (ARWC) awarded her with the "Honoring 100 Asian Women Award". In 2014, she was elected by public vote to receive the "N-Peace Award" from the UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Office and the UN Secretary General's Special Advisor on the University for Peace. In 2016, she was awarded the "Global Women Leadership Award" by the World-CSR, and in 2017, she received the "World Super Achiever Award" by World Human Rights Congress. Hasina was awarded the "Iconic Women Creating a Better World for All Award" from the Women's Economic Forum in 2020, and in 2021, the Afghan public voted for her to be elected as one of the "45 Most Influential Afghan Women".