Mahnaz Afkhami is Founder and President of Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP), Executive Director of Foundation for Iranian Studies and former Minister for Women’s Affairs in Iran. Born in Kerman, Iran, she founded the Association of Iranian University Women and served as secretary general of the Women’s Organization of Iran prior to the Islamic revolution.

Mahnaz Afkhami has been a leading advocate of women’s rights for more than three decades. She serves on the advisory boards of several organizations, including the Global Fund for Women; Oxfam/Novib; Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch; the World Movement for Democracy; and chairs the Advisory Board of the International Museum of Women. She created the concept and mobilized support for the establishment of the United Nations Asian and Pacific Centre for Women and Development (APCWD) and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).

Afkhami’s publications includeWomen in Exile; Faith and Freedom: Women’s Human Rights in the Muslim World, and In the Eye of the Storm: Women in Post-revolutionary Iran. The manuals she has co-authored include Victories Over Violence: Ensuring Safety for Women and Girls; Leading to Action: A Political Participation Handbook for Women; and Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women. The manuals have been translated into 20 languages and are being used in 40 countries.