Jamila Raqib

Activist Type

Peace

Jamila Raqib, Executive Director of the Albert Einstein Institution, is not only a leading advocate for nonviolent action but also a symbol of resilience. At the tender age of five, Raqib and her family escaped Soviet oppression in Afghanistan, an experience that deeply informed her commitment to promoting peaceful resistance. Since 2002, she has collaborated closely with renowned scholar Gene Sharp, culminating in the development of "Self-Liberation: A Guide to Strategic Planning for Action to End a Dictatorship or Other Oppression," offering indispensable guidance for nonviolent struggles. Raqib represents the Institution at esteemed gatherings like the Oslo Freedom Forum and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, where she champions a pragmatic approach to activism. With a BA in Management from Simmons College and a research affiliate at the MIT Media Lab, Raqib explores how technology and education can amplify the impact of nonviolent movements, embodying the spirit of resilience and determination in her pursuit of justice and empowerment.

Artwork by

Hangama Amiri

Amiri works predominantly in textiles to examine notions of home, as well as how gender, social norms, and larger geopolitical conflict impact the daily lives of women, both in Afghanistan and in the diaspora. Continuing to use textiles as the medium, Amiri searches to define, explore, and question these spaces. The figurative tendency in her work is due to her interest in the power of representation, especially of those objects that are ordinary to our everyday life, such as a passport, a vase, or celebrity postcards.

Afghanistan

Capital

Kabul

Founded

July 22, 1747

Demonym

Afghan