I am Shakeela Amaj from Afghanistan. I am working in capacity of Technical Advisor for USAID’s largest gender empowerment project operating in Afghanistan to give the voice and skills to women, and help them participate in mainstream economy of the and advocate for women’s rights and economic empowerment. I have developed several national policies and strategies to help Afghan women participate in the mainstream economy, and conducted national media campaigns on perception change for women’s inclusion in the society.

I have over 12 years of experience in project management, particularly in women’s empowerment and gender equality, with national and international organizations. I have designed and implemented several developmental projects in “restricted areas”.

I am a business school graduate of Kardan University, and holds Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Nicosia, Cyprus. I have also obtained accredited training on “Policy and Institutional Analysis” from Rohr University Bochum, Germany, and Project Planning and Management from University of Virginia, United States.

Apart from my professional career, I am interested in community and social development, and have voluntarily mentored startups and helped them develop their concepts into business models. Recently, I was selected a Global Goodwill Ambassador (GGA) from Afghanistan, and one of the 60 gender equality advocates from MENA region to participate at the Swedish Institute’s Leader Lab Program 2019-2020.

I also run my own management consultancy and train girls around the social taboos such as menarche, menstrual hygiene and puberty. Being an active civil activist, I have designed several concepts on peace building, peace dialogues through different approaches and including influencers to drive such campaigns.