Sima Samar is a Hazara woman and human rights advocate, activist and medical doctor within national and international forums, who served as Minister of Women's Affairs of Afghanistan from December 2001 to 2003. She is the former Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and, from 2005 to 2009, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan. In 2012, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her longstanding and courageous dedication to human rights, especially the rights of women, in one of the most complex and dangerous regions in the world."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ambassador Ryan Crocker meet with Sima Samar inside the American Embassy in Kabul.
Hillary Clinton standing with Sima Samar and other female politicians of Afghanistan in Kabul, October 2011
Ministry of Women's Affairs (Afghanistan)
Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) was a ministry in the Afghan government which was established in late 2001 by the Afghan Interim Administration.
Husn Banu Ghazanfar, Minister of Women's Affairs from July 2006 to April 2015, the longest serving in the office. The department has since been disbanded.
