Muqadasa Ahmadzai
Muqadasa Ahmadzai (born 1992/1993) is a social activist, politician and poet from Afghanistan, who ran in 2018 for election to the Afghan parliament. She is the recipient of a N-Peace Award and was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021. Biography. Ahmadzai was 24 years old in 2017. She is a social activist and poet from Nangarhar, Afghanistan. Initially her family were opposed to her activism and she endured physical punishment when they discovered her activities. Whilst a teenager, she published a book of poetry, and it was her uncle's appreciation of  this that changed her family's opinion of her work. A former member and Deputy Speaker of the Afghan Youth Parliament, during the COVID-19 pandemic she worked to support women and communities against disinformation. She was a founder of the National Youth Council in Afghanistan. She represented the voices of Afghan women as part of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Peace Dialogues. Alongside other women she began a campaign of mural painting with women's rights messages in Jalalabad. She also established a network of 400 women who travelled the country, including into areas at the time that were controlled by  the Taliban, to women who were survivors of domestic violence. She is founder and Director of the Kor Association, which aims to raise awareness of rights that women in Afghanistan have. In 2018 she ran for election to the Afghan parliament. Awards. Ahmadzai was awarded a N-Peace Award, given by the United Nations Development Programme. She was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021.