Belquis Ahmadi has over 20 years of experience working in Afghanistan on issues related to gender, human rights, civil society development, rule of law, governance and democracy. Ms. Ahmadi’s extensive experience includes senior management positions under large USAID programs in Afghanistan, evaluation of USAID gender and democracy and governance programming, and analysis and design of gender and human rights programming, and training and mentoring Afghan civil society and government candidates. She has also published extensively on democracy, governance and women’s rights in Afghanistan.
From November 2010 to March 2014, Ms. Ahmadi worked on the USAID-funded Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations Regional Command East (RAMP UP), implemented in 14 provinces. In this role, Ms. Ahmadi managed the technical work of the program to ensure high quality results and deliverables. In addition, she developed core skills training modules to integrate and mainstream gender in all aspects of governance, service delivery, and leadership to over 200 municipal officials in fourteen provinces.
From 2006 to 2009, Ms. Ahmadi served as senior human rights advisor in Afghanistan. In this role, she provided leadership and management oversight of resources, including budget, planning, and program monitoring; designed and implemented activities promoting women’s rights through the use of religious arguments, providing analysis of the Shiite Personal Status Law, as well as providing advice and guidance in drafting of the Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women; and oversaw the preparation of training materials for programs.
From 2000 to 2004, she served as program coordinator for Global Rights Partners for Justice in Washington D.C., managing their Afghanistan program. From 1987 to 1999, Ms. Ahmadi worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross, CARE International, and the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR) in Afghanistan. Ms. Ahmadi earned her LLM in International Human Rights Law from Georgetown University Law Center and her LLB of Law from Kabul University.
Publications
- Getting it Right for Afghan Women, www.baag.org.uk; April 2, 2014
- To Negotiate or Not? Afghan Women or the Taliban, The Progressive; February 2011
- Women and the Justice System, Working Toward Peace and Prosperity in Afghanistan, Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination (LISD) at Princeton University, 2011
- Bibi Aisha and the Voiceless Victims of Afghan Tradition, Ms. Blog, September 15, 2010
- Ten Dead in Badakhshan: An Afghan aid worker speaks up, Afghanistan Analyst Network, August 30, 2010
- Filling the Vacuum: Prerequisites to Security in Afghanistan, International Human Rights Law Group, American Bar Association, International Resources Group and International Foundation for Election Systems; 2002
- Reality Gap in Afghanistan: Despite rosy reports, women’s rights remain wishful thinking, editorial in the Washington Post; July 8, 2002
- We Have Already Suffered 20 Years of War, The Progressive; November 2001