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Afghan Intellectuals

Safiya Wazir

First Afghan women won election to New Hampshire’s House of Representatives
My name is Safiya Wazir, and I am a resident of Concord, a wife, and mother of two beautiful children (with one on the way!). I came to the United States in 2007 as a refugee from Afghanistan and have been dedicated to my Concord community in my work. as a board member, and in volunteerism.
I have decided to run for office because the New Hampshire House of Representatives needs more diverse representation and advocates to represent the diverse needs and communities of New Hampshire.
As a member of the Board of Directors for Community Action Program of Belknap-Merrimack Counties, I am proud of the work we do to provide assistance for low-income families and empower them to become fully self-sufficient.
I am also the vice-chair of the Head Start Policy Council, which advocates for policies and programs that help families and children in New Hampshire.
Strong families are at the core of a strong educational foundation and a fruitful workforce and economy. It is my core belief.

Aisha Wahab

First Afghan American Elected to Public Office in the Bay Area California

Aisha has dedicated an enormous amount of time to community organizing. Aisha sits on multiple non-profit boards that focus on community. She works to ensure housing for low and extremely low-income individuals, provide seniors programs to stay active, have immigrants get involved in the community through civic engagement, and to support victims of domestic violence as they find safety and start to live their lives.
Currently, Aisha serves as a Business Information Technology Consultant for Santa Clara County. She has successfully saved the County millions of dollars in enterprise-wide agreements with technology contracts such as Microsoft, Adobe, Amazon and many more.
Recently, Aisha was named as one of San Francisco Business Times’ 2017 Most Influential Woman in Business (for her work in non-profits), highlighted in San Francisco Magazine’s “The Resistance” Issue (for her community organizing), named 40 Under 40 by CSU East Bay, as well as an American Graduate Champion by KLRU via a grant by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting for her passion for education.
As a proud American, Aisha prides herself on hard work, community building, and creating opportunities for everyone and especially for those in need.
Aisha attended public school and graduated with her B.A. in Political Science. She also went on to receive her Masters in Business Administration at California State University, East Bay.

Zalmay Khalilzad

زلمی خلیلزاد

Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad (Pashto: زلمی خلیلزاد Zalmay Khalīlzād; born March 22, 1951) is a former US diplomat and a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the president of Gryphon Partners and Khalilzad Associates, an international business consulting firm, based in Washington, DC He was the US Ambassador to the United Nations, under President George W. Bush.

He has been involved with US policymakers in the State Department and the Pentagon since the mid-1980s, and he was the highest-ranking Muslim American in the George W. Bush administration.

Khalilzad's previous assignments in the administration included US Ambassador to Afghanistan and US Ambassador to Iraq.

In 2017, he was considered for US Secretary of State in the Trump administration.

sirat

Abdul Satar Sirat

عبدالستار سیرت

Abdul Satar Sirat (/ˈɑːbdəl səˈtɑːr ˈsiːrɑːt/ (About this sound listen) AHB-dəl sə-TAR SEE-raht; عبدالستار سيرت) is an Islamic Scholar and former Afghan Justice Minister.
Bachelor's degree in Islamic Studies from Kabul University
He has two masters first one in Islamic Sharia law and theology from Egypt, second from International Law.
Completed under-graduate courses in Law at Columbia University, New York
PhD in Islamic Studies from Pacific Western University, California

Satar Sirat served as the Dean of Faculty of Islamic Studies at Kabul University from 1964 to 1969. In 1969, he was appointed as the Minister of Justice of Afghanistan until King Zahir Shah was deposed in 1973. In 1990, he was sent by Shah to Saudi Arabia and Islamabad, Pakistan for discussions on how to end the Afghan conflict. In 2000, Sirat lived in Jedda, Saudi Arabia and taught Islamic Studies at the King Abdulaziz University.