Mahbouba Seraj

Mahbouba Seraj is an Afghan journalist and women's rights advocate. She is, among others, founder and director of the Organization for Research in Peace and Solidarity (ORPS), executive chair of the Afghan Women's Network and member of the Afghan Women Coalition Against Corruption.

Mahbouba was born in a royal lineage, went to high school at the Malalai High School for girls and studied at Kabul University. In 1978, Seraj and her husband were put in prison by the Communist Party of Afghanistan and later that year declared persona non grata. She left for the United States (at least initially New York City) and lived there in exile for some 25 years, before returning in 2003 to Afghanistan.

After her return to Afghanistan, Seraj advocated for women's education and other rights, and founded a number of organizations that were active in the field. She advocated in particular for women to be part of the political discourse, through a National Action Plan, encouraged by UN_Security_Council_Resolution_1325.

When the Taliban took full control of the country in August 2021, Seraj returned to Afghanistan and vowed to remain in the country to advocate for women's rights. She expressed her dismay at the Western allies who left Afghanistan at the mercy of the Taliban.

Seraj is one of TIME 100's Most Influential People of 2021.