Suraya Pakzad

Suraya Pakzad is an Afghan activist.  She started Voice of Women, an organization that helps women in Afghanistan. In 2008 she received the International Women of Courage Award from the U.S. Department of State.

 Life 

Pakzad was born in Herat, Afghanistan. She received a degree in literature from Kabul University in 1990.

When Pakzad was 12 years old, she saw a gunman kill the headmistress of her school.  A few weeks later, a bomb hit her school and killed a girl in her class.

 Work 

During the time of the Taliban, the organization had secret schools for girls in Kabul.  After the end of the Taliban in 2001, Voice of Women was the first women’s NGO to register with the new government.

In 2014 Pakzad started a women-only restaurant in Herat Province.

 Awards 
International Women of Courage Award, 2008, U.S. State Department.
National Medal (Malali Medal), 2008, President of Afghanistan.
"Time 100" most influential people, 2009.
Women, Power and Peace Award, 2009.

 References  

Category:Women who received the International Women of Courage Award
Category:Afghan women's rights activists
Category:1972 births
Category:Herat Province
Category:21st-century Afghan people
Category:20th-century Afghan people