Maryam Rayed

Maryam Rayed
Maryam Rayed
Rayed in February 2022
Born1997 (age 28–29)
Afghanistan
EducationGeorgetown University (MA)
Kabul University (BA, MA)
OccupationsHuman rights advocate, peacebuilding practitioner
Known forAdvocacy for women's rights, girls' education, democracy, and peacebuilding in Afghanistan
AwardsAdvocate on the Rise Award, Women in Government Relations (2022)

Maryam Rayed is an Afghan human rights advocate and peacebuilding practitioner whose work has centered on women's rights, girls' education, and democracy promotion in Afghanistan. She served as deputy director for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights at Afghanistan's State Ministry for Peace and later founded the Afghanistan Women's Think Tank. She has also co-founded Democracy Pen, which advocates for democracy, women's education, and press freedom in Afghanistan.

Education

Rayed was born in Afghanistan during the Taliban's first period of rule. She earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology and Philosophy and a master's degree in Gender and Women's Studies from Kabul University, then received a Fulbright scholarship to study at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she pursued a master's degree in governance and democracy.

Career and advocacy

Rayed served as deputy director for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights at Afghanistan's State Ministry for Peace, where her work focused on human rights and women's participation in peace and security discussions. She founded the Afghanistan Women's Think Tank, described by Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs as a grassroots research and advocacy center that provides a platform for women's participation in political and social arenas. She also co-founded Democracy Pen, a nonprofit organization that advocates for democracy, women's education, and press freedom in Afghanistan; her advocacy has focused on bottom-up democracy promotion, freedom of speech, independent media, and human rights.

After the fall of Kabul and the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, Rayed remained in the United States, where UN Women has described her as living in exile, while completing her studies at Georgetown University. In a January 2022 interview with Voice of America, Rayed said the Taliban's return had made it impossible for her to go back to Afghanistan, ending her plan to work there as a governance specialist after finishing her degree.

In September 2023, Rayed was a listed speaker at Combatting Gender Apartheid: The Situation of Women & Girls in Afghanistan, an invitation-only event held by Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs on the status of Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule.

Rayed has continued to advocate internationally for Afghan women and girls, including access to education and the inclusion of women in peace and political processes. In January 2024, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security quoted Rayed, identified as a member of the Onward for Afghan Women network, in an article marking the International Day of Education that called attention to the Taliban's restrictions on Afghan girls' and women's education.

Recognition

In October 2022, Rayed received the Advocate on the Rise award at the Excellence in Advocacy Awards held by Women in Government Relations. Khaama Press reported she was the first Afghan woman recognized by the organization in that category.

In 2023, Rayed was named among the William P. Fuller Fellows in Peacebuilding by The Asia Foundation.

In January 2025, the Institute of International Education named Rayed an IIE Rodman C. Rockefeller Centennial Fellow for the Afghanistan Hub – Afghan Girls Online Education Project, an online initiative that provides Afghan girls with English-language learning, mentorship, and scholarship opportunities.

Rayed was a Fall 2025 Fellow in the CAMCA Fellowship Program, run jointly by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the American Foreign Policy Council and the Rumsfeld Foundation. The program brings emerging leaders from Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan to Washington, D.C. for an intensive exchange with U.S. policymakers, journalists and civil society leaders. The Foundation's biography of the cohort described her cross-sector background in government, civil society and international policy, and noted her fellowship focus on women's empowerment, digital innovation and inclusive governance in the region.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "No peace without women: Afghan activists on why women's representation matters". UN Women. 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  2. 1 2 3 "Afghan women's rights activist recognized as the advocate of the year". Khaama Press. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Combatting Gender Apartheid: The Situation of Women & Girls in Afghanistan". Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  4. 1 2 Dawi, Akmal (2022-01-23). "Afghan Students in US Face Uncertain Future". Voice of America. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  5. ↑ "On This International Day of Education, We Should Remember Afghan Women and Girls". Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  6. ↑ "The Asia Foundation Selects William P. Fuller Fellows in Peacebuilding". The Asia Foundation. 2023-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  7. ↑ "Announcing the 2024-25 IIE Centennial Fellows". Institute of International Education. 2025-01-14. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  8. ↑ "Fall 2025 Fellows" (PDF). Rumsfeld Foundation. September 2025. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  9. ↑ "Spring 2025 CAMCA Fellows Announcement". Rumsfeld Foundation. 2025-03-20. Retrieved 2026-07-07.