Our Founders
Women's Rights First was founded by Afghan women with lived experience under Taliban oppression and expertise in public international law, human rights, and peacebuilding. Their leadership combines a firsthand understanding of the crisis with strong professional credentials, shaping a survivor-centered organization committed to justice, accountability, and inclusive peace. Detailed biographies are provided below.
Shabnam Salehi is a fellow and visiting researcher at the University of Ottawa (GSPIA & HRREC) and a prominent Afghan women's rights scholar with an LLB and a Master's in Public Policy & Administration from Kabul University, now pursuing a Ph.D. in International Law at Carleton University. She began her academic career in 2012 as an assistant professor at Kabul University, teaching public policy, human rights, and gender equality. From 2019 to 2021, she served as Commissioner and Head of the Women's Rights Promotion and Protection Unit at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, where she led legal reforms on marriage, divorce, virginity testing, transgender rights, and sexual harassment.
Areas of Expertise
Hanifa Girowal is the vice president of Women's Rights First (WRF), an Afghan women-led organization dedicated to documenting human rights violations and advancing women's participation in peacebuilding and accountability processes in Afghanistan. She also serves as a non-resident fellow at Princeton University's Afghanistan Policy Lab and an advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan. Hanifa has also served as a research fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Hanifa has served as the Deputy Governor of Kabul and Human Rights Director for the National Directorate of Security. She also served in multiple roles at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, focusing on women's rights, transitional justice, and the protection of civilians during armed conflict. She holds a master's degree in public international law from Brunel University London through the Chevening Scholarship.