Sima Wali

Sima Wali (April 7, 1951 – September 22, 2017) was a renowned Afghan human rights advocate and a campaigner for the rights of refugees and internally displaced populations. As the CEO of Refugee Women in Development (RefWID), Inc., she worked tirelessly for the civil rights of refugee women and girls fleeing conflict and for their equitable reintegration into society. She was also the vice president of the Sisterhood Is Global Institute, the world's first feminist think tank. Her advocacy efforts led to the appropriation of millions of dollars supporting Afghan women-led NGOs and the participation of women in Afghanistan's nascent democracy. Wali's personal experience as a refugee of the Soviet-Afghan War inspired her lifelong fight for human rights. She was one of only three female delegates at the U.N.-organized Bonn Agreement in Germany, which formed a new Afghan government after the fall of the Taliban, and played a pivotal role in the creation of the Ministry of Women's Affairs.