Who is Mahbouba Seraj? Afghan woman activist nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

'Our beloved Afghanistan' is a radio programme created by journalist and women's right activist Mahbouba Seraj. The name of the programme has been the description of the life the 74-year-old has lived in a country where the peace has remained a contested affair and women's rights have been the first casualties of prolonged conflicts.

Seraj has been living in Afghanistan since 2003. Her work was recognised by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), a Norway-based independent research institution, which nominated her for the Nobel Peace Prize 2023.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which chooses the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year, does not reveal who is nominated.

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But nominators, who range from politicians and former winners to think tanks, can reveal the identity of the person they have nominated.

Seraj is the co-founder of Afghan Women's Network, a non-profit that aims to build an Afghanistan in which women and men live in a justice and discrimination free society. She is the niece of reformist Afghan King Amanullah Khan, who won independence from Britain in 1919 and ruled until 1929.

She has been a journalist, humanitarian, and peace activist for over more than four decades.

Since Taliban stormed into power in August 2021,women have been pushed to the margin in Kabul's rearranged power corridors, almost as a means of assertion of administrative authority of Afghanistan's new hardline rulers.

WION has exclusively reported during the moments of reckoning forAfghan women's rights when the hardline Islamist group went on to impose ban on women's education and right to work. The Talibanhas also imposed severe restrictions on women’s appearances as well as theirfreedom of movement.

Matiullah Wesa, the founder of women's education non-profit Pen Path, remains detained by Taliban since past seven months.

How Seraj is working for women's rights in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

Seraj has been able to convince the Taliban to allow her to continue some of her activities despite their restrictions on women.

Seraj has called for engagement with the Taliban’s internationally unrecognised government. Her stance on engaging with Taliban has attracted criticism from some Afghans.

Also watch |Afghan women speak to WION from the ground: 'We want our freedoms back' | WION Originals

Seraj hit slammed her critics by saying engagement with the Taliban is the only way to clear the devastating humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" she was quoted as saying in February 2023 by Radio Free Europe. "Or do you want all of us to die here in Afghanistan?"

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