Hanifa Girowal

Hanifa Girowal (Bluesky – LinkedIn) 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 peace building 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 a 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 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 Chevening Scholarship.