Jamila Afghani was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1976. At a young age, she was diagnosed with polio and as a result of complications from the disease, uses a brace to walk. When she was 14 years old, during the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan and subsequent war, she suffered a non fatal gunshot wound. After the civil war, she fled Kabul, eventually settling in a Peshawar, Pakistan where she went on to study for and obtain her bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Peshawar. In addition to studying in Peshawar, she also worked as a social worker with Afghan refugees in the camps across the country. In 2001, after identifying a lack of female teachers as one of the most significant barriers to girls education, Jamila started a nonprofit called Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO). In addition to providing women and children with educational opportunities, NEDCO also teaches classes in sign language and offers classes about gender issues and conflict resolution. Jamila also created a gender sensitive training for Imams in Afghanistan, assisting them in incorporating women’s rights from an Islamic point of view in their preaching. The program has over 6,000 imams involved and as a result of this initiative, khutbas have been held in over 20 of Kabuls most influential masjids. In 2008, she was awarded the Tanenbaum Peacemaker in Action Award.