Hasina Jalal

Hasina Jalal (Dari: حسینه جلال) is a women's rights and pro-democracy advocate, and an exiled scholar from Afghanistan, with over a decade of experience in policy advocacy, civil society engagement, and academic scholarship. In 2014, Jalal was elected by public vote to receive the "N-Peace Award" from the UN Secretary General's Special Advisor on the University for Peace and UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Office.

Hasina is a member of the New University in Exile Consortium and a Fellow of the Pittsburgh Network for Threatened Scholars. She has taught political science, economics, and human rights-related courses at political science departments as well as business schools in both the US and Afghanistan. She held several senior positions within the Government of Afghanistan, including serving as the Research Team Lead and Policy Expert at the Presidential Palace and Policy Advisor to the Minister and Director of the Program Design and Donor Coordination Directorate at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.

She co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the National Association of Afghanistan Civil Society (NAACS), and played a key role in establishing the first South Asian alliance focused on women’s economic, social, and cultural rights (SAFA) in Sri Lanka. In addition, she has held leadership roles in local and national political campaigns and has led grassroots mobilization efforts in Afghanistan.