Zarqa Yaftali is Director of the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation which focuses on promoting and supporting civil society efforts to include women in decision-making at a national level in Afghanistan. Ms. Yaftali is an executive board member of Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), and Women’s Regional Network (WRN), as well as Co-chair of the Women Peace and Security working group and the Child Protection Action Network (CPAN), among other entities. She consults regularly with the United Nations and other international bodies on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and beyond.
As an influential women’s rights advocate and leader, Ms. Yaftali has carried out several large research and action projects directed at improving public policy focused on women and children. In recognition of her work, she has received numerous awards including the 2019 N-Peace Award from Afghanistan, the Women Regional Network (WRN) award, as well as an award from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation