Mahbouba Seraj • Docteure honoris causa
Mahbouba Seraj is an American-Afghan activist known for her work promoting women's and children's rights in Afghanistan. Born in Kabul in 1948 into a royal family, she was imprisoned by the Communist Party in 1978. She was forced into exile and found refuge mainly in the United States (New York) before returning to Afghanistan in 2003, after the fall of the Taliban regime.
A lecture by Mabhouba Seraj was held on February 18, 2025, as part of the “Grandes conférences scientifiques de l’ULiège”
She is dedicated to defending women's rights, promoting children's health, and fighting corruption. When the Taliban returned to power in 2021, she refused to flee her country and decided to continue her fight for women and children.
She is involved in various programs aimed at empowering women and providing them with psychological and social support. She founded and runs the Women Skills Development Center.
As part of the Afghan Women's Rights Activist, she advocates for girls' education and improved living conditions for women in a country where they face increasing discrimination.
She is a prominent and respected voice both in her country and on the international stage. An activist and journalist, she is the creator and host of a radio program called “The Afghanistan We Love, by Mahbouba Seraj.”
In January 2022, just a few months after the Taliban returned to power, she told the UN Security Council: "After 20 years of freedom—working, studying, playing sports, playing music—it took less than six months to completely dismantle the rights of women and girls across the country. The education of Afghan girls is in jeopardy, especially that of women and teenage girls, most of whom are excluded from schools and universities. Many women have fled the country or are confined to their homes, fearing that their religion, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity will make them a target.“”
In a recent interview with the Belgian newspaper L'Écho, she said: “I have reached the point where I see no light at the end of the tunnel for women in Afghanistan.” However, this statement does not dampen her determination to resist the authorities and speak out publicly, including abroad, to denounce the increasingly severe, absurd and scandalous violations of the rights of women and girls and their now virtually non-existent access to education.
Sources
- Statement by Ms. Mahbouba Seraj, Briefing to the UN Security Council on Afghanistan, January 26, 2022
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Interview with the newspaper L’Écho, August 21, 2024
- Interview with the newspaper Le Devoir, March 11, 2023
