Research Fellows 2024
Maliha Shirzay
Maliha holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Malmö University, and two Master’s degrees in Asian Studies and Gender Studies from Lund University, Sweden. Currently, she is working as a Research Fellow in the Afghanistan Program at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Lund. In this role, she collaborates with other research fellows to support the mandate of the Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett on Human Rights in Afghanistan. Although she has temporarily paused her work on her third Master’s thesis in International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER), Maliha remains committed to completing it in the near future.
Maliha is dedicated to investigating the rights of Afghan women, particularly focusing on education and empowerment. Additionally, she delves into the marginalized position of ethnic groups, specifically the Uzbeks in Afghanistan, and the obstacles encountered by Muslim women. Her research delves into the intricate nature of intersecting identities and the vulnerabilities experienced by these women. Maliha underscores the significance of cultural values in formulating strategies to advocate for their rights and emphasizes the importance of preserving their supportive identities while striving for empowerment. Her work underscores the significance of upholding the integrity of intersecting identities when examining how these women overcome societal barriers and work towards equality and agency.
Maliha has been actively engaged as a research assistant on various projects within the SASNET South Asian Studies Network since 2020, affiliated with Lund University. She played a significant role in the cultural research project titled “Vad Hände Sedan” where she conducted interviews with Afghan participants, translated them into Swedish, and facilitated the informed consent process. She also contributed to the ‘CARE’ research project from 2022 to 2023,at Malmö University, which focused on the study of “Inequality and Wellbeing in Transnational Families in Europe.”
Maliha is a highly dedicated individual who is actively involved in community initiatives in Malmö, Sweden, while also pursuing her academic interests. Though she has recently stepped down from her leadership position in the Afghan Forum Afghanska Akademiska Kulturcentrum i Sverige due to her busy schedule, she continues to be an active member of the organization. Her primary focus is on promoting the integration of Afghan women in Malmö. Maliha is also associated with two UK-based NGOs, Rahela Trust and Omid International, both dedicated to promoting women’s right to education and empowering women from disadvantaged backgrounds to become leaders. Additionally, they encourage women’s participation in post-conflict peace-building efforts and are committed to advancing women’s empowerment globally. Furthermore, Maliha is a founder and the President of the International Afghan Enlightened Women organization, where she advocates for women’s rights and supports young girls in their pursuit of higher education in Afghanistan.
Overall, Maliha perceives her academic journey as a humble pursuit of knowledge while striving to make meaningful contributions both within academia and through community service.
Latifa Jafari Alavi
Latifa Jafari Alavi is a research fellow at Raoul Wallenberg Institute. Her research interests include accountability for international crimes, international humanitarian law, environment law and minorities women rights.
Alavi holds an LLM in European Private International Law from Dundee University and a master’s degree in International and European Law from Toulouse 1 University Capitole. She obtained her PhD in international law from Strasbourg University, with a dissertation titled “Impunity for International Crimes in Afghanistan, the Failure of Complementarity, and the Need for Alternatives.” Her post-doctoral research focused on human rights and environmental justice at SAGE in the university of Strasbourg.
Currently as a research fellow in RWI, she is conducting research on intersectionality and access to human rights for minorities women in Afghanistan. Latifa has previously worked for various international legal organizations including the ICC and IDLO. In addition, she has collaborated with several local and international NGOs in Afghanistan, Iran, and France.
Hamid A. Formuli
Hamid A. Formuli is a human rights practitioner and a former career diplomat.
His tenure at the Afghan foreign service spans over 8 years, boasting an impactful career across various roles, starting from a consular associate, law and treaties officer to special aide to the deputy foreign minister for economic cooperation.
Hamid previously served as the Head of the Human Rights Section of the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN in Geneva, and alternative permanent representative to the Human Rights Council during Afghanistan’s first ever membership of the body and as an expert at its Bureau during Afghanistan’s vice–presidency in 2020.
Since 2022 Hamid Formuli has been a founding member and Senior Fellow at the Center for Dialogue and Progress – Geneva, where he leads activities on human rights monitoring and advocacy through research, legal analysis, and events organization.
Academically, he holds a Bachelors in Law and Political Science from Kabul University and earned a Master (Summa Cum Laude) of International Studies from Seoul National University, South Korea, focusing on International Development Cooperation Policy and Global Governance.
His research interests include nexus between conflict and development, International and UN-mandated accountability mechanisms, politics of international human rights action, and management of diversity in pluricultural societies.
Hamid is fluent in Dari/Pashto and English, proficient in German and has basic knowledge of French and Spanish.
Kobra Moradi
Kobra Moradi is a lawyer with a focus on human rights and international law. She has previously worked on international criminal accountability at the Australian Centre for International Justice, Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, UN Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials, and Clooney Foundation for Justice.
Kobra is a law and international relations graduate. She also holds a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the Australian National University, where she wrote her research dissertation on victim-centered transitional justice and Islamic law.
Haroun Rahimi
Haroun Rahimi is an Associate Professor of Law and the interim chair of Law Department at the American University of Afghanistan. Rahimi is also a Global Academy Scholar at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA). Rahimi’s research focuses on economic laws, institutional reform, Islamic finance, and divergent conceptions of rule of law in Muslim and modern thoughts, and religious authority. Rahimi’s research has appeared in reputable local and international journals. Rahimi has also collaborated as an independent consultant with a number of research firms and policy think tanks conducting policy research on institutional development and good governance in the South Asia context. He was a visiting professor at Università Bocconi. At the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Rahimi has worked on Islamic finance as a poverty alleviation strategy, the legal history of Afghanistan, and the ways that legal transplantation is legitimized in Muslim countries. Rahimi was a visiting scholar at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) in Rome. Haroun Rahimi obtained his B.A. in Law from Herat University, his LLM in Global Business Law, and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
Humaira Rasuli
Humaira Rasuli is an Afghan human rights lawyer and women empowerment activist. Humairahas a Master degree in Law and Political Science, practiced as an attorney in Afghanistan, and registered with the Afghan Bar Association as a Human Rights Attorney. She is also a certified psychosocial counselor and has a diploma in Business Administration. She is currently engaged in a fellowship at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI) in Sweden. She with some other Afghan fellows also works in support of Richard Bennett (UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan)
Humaira has over 20 years of experience working in Afghanistan on issues related to gender, human rights, civil society development and rule of law. Her extensive experience includes senior management positions, development and leading two prominent NOGs in Afghanistan, training and mentoring lawyers and activists to increase women’s access to justice, uphold the rule of law in Afghanistan.
Humaira Rasuli started her social justice journey at the age of 16 when she was an Afghan refugee in Pakistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. For 20 years, she cofounded and let two local organizations programs in Afghanistan providing psychosocial counseling and legal support to survivors of violence against women across five provinces to serve, assist, and empower tens of thousands of women and girls affected by the war and crisis.
Humaira performed as a leading lawyer in investigating and trying some of the most high-profile sex-crime cases in Afghanistan involving warlords, politicians, drug lords and the criminal mafia. She has frequently travelled nationally to give trainings to women at grass-root level andinternationally. Humaira attended and contributed to workshops and conferences in regards to women’s rights agenda
Since the Taliban took over, she been at the frontlines from protesting, to mobilizing resources, to creating networks of support, educational opportunities to advance women’s rights and navigate the challenges of human rights progress and gender equality within Afghanistan.
Currently, she conducts lawyering skills trainings to law graduated students, provides on the job trainings to fresh lawyers and counsellors and participates in campaign to End Gender Apartheid crimes in Afghanistan and participate in meetings to encourage the UN member states to address systematic gender-based discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan.
Mitra Tanomand
Mitra Tanomand, a dedicated human rights advocate from Afghanistan, holds a Master of Arts & Humanities specializing in Gender Studies from the University of East Anglia, attained through the Chevening Scholarship. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Global Development with a focus on Education in the UK, Mitra is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)®.
With a background spanning over a decade in the human rights field, Mitra’s expertise encompasses gender and children affairs, human rights activities, research, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), as well as project development and management. Her research focuses on the critical issue of Gender-Based Violence in Afghanistan, utilizing a comprehensive critical discourse analysis approach. Proficient in feminist research methods, gender dynamics, social development, globalization, and business and development, Mitra brings a multifaceted skill set to her work.
Currently, Mitra is researching human rights issues in Afghanistan, focusing on girls’ education and “Unveiling the post-2021 Realities within Women’s Protection Shelters in Afghanistan: Navigating Challenges Amidst Socio-Political Shifts”.
Having worked primarily in national and international organizations, Mitra served as a Gender Consultant at Colombo Plan, making significant contributions to Women’s Shelters and Children Shelters projects in Afghanistan. Progressing in her career, she assumed the role of Chief Program Officer at The Colombo Plan, where she oversaw the Gender Affairs Program across Afghanistan. Her primary focus was advocating for women’s rights and combating gender-based violence.
As the founder and CEO of the Afghan Businesswomen Organization, a non-profit dedicated to women’s economic empowerment in Afghanistan, Mitra developed strategic business plans and managed projects aimed at empowering vulnerable women through income generation. Under her guidance, small to medium-sized home-based businesses were established in remote areas of Afghanistan. Mitra excelled in handling comprehensive research reports for fundraising and donor engagement.
With an unwavering commitment to human rights, gender studies, and community development, Mitra Tanomand stands as a beacon of change, contributing positively to critical issues in Afghanistan and beyond.
Palwasha Mirbacha
With over a decade of extensive experience, Palwasha Mirbacha has played a pivotal role in planning, designing, implementing, and monitoring education projects, collaborating with renowned international education institutions. As an expert in the field of education, she has successfully managed the execution of multi-sectoral, multi-million, and generational projects. Palwasha’s background encompasses the management of both developmental and humanitarian education programs, with a profound understanding of the economics of education facilitated by education background coupled with her intensive engagement in robust research, writing, and analysis of the sector. She employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, underscored by the publication of multiple analytical works in the field. Furthermore, Palwasha’s professional journey reflects a commitment to social entrepreneurship and community work in Afghanistan, evident in her instrumental role in establishing and sustaining a grassroots education initiative, the Boume Dana Foundation, focused on the publication and dissemination of indigenous and contextually relevant children’s literature for Afghan children.
The programme is financially supported by:
