Sima Samar
Dr. Sima Samar is an Afghan women's and human rights advocate, social activist and physician. Born in Jaghori, Afghanistan in 1957, Sima studied medicine at Kabul University and after graduating in 1982 worked as a doctor in refugee camps in Pakistan serving Afghan refugees displaced during the Soviet invasion.
In 1989, she established the Shuhada Organization, an NGO dedicated to providing health care and education, particularly to women and girls, in Afghanistan and refugee camps in Pakistan. The organization operates hospitals, schools and other programs. In 2002 following the fall of the Taliban, Sima was appointed Deputy President and Minister of Women's Affairs in the interim government of Afghanistan becoming the first Hazara woman to hold such a position. Unfortunately, facing significant political opposition and threats, she was compelled to resign from the position later that year.
From 2004 to 2019, Sima served as Chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) where she continued to advocate for women's and human rights, often in the face of considerable resistance. Awards she has received include the John Humphrey Freedom Award, the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Award, often described as the "Alternative Nobel Prize.