Embassy of the United States

National Endowment for Democracy Honors Three Afghan Activists

Activists promote human rights, citizen participation in Afghanistan 13 July 2005 By Mercedes L. Suarez Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- Democracy starts at the ground level, and no one knows that better than Sakena Yacoobi, founder and president of the Afghan Institute of Learning. Yacoobi’s organization has been responsible for providing more than 350,000 Afghan women and children with education, health care and human rights training. By educating women about the basic principles and values of democracy they can become aware of -- and begin to exercise -- their rights. Yacoobi, along with Mohammad Nasib and Sarwar Hussaini, received the annual Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on July 13. The three democracy activists met with President Bush in the Oval Office and were honored in a reception at the U.S. Congress. They also participated in a roundtable discussion with members of Congress on building democracy in Afghanistan. “I hope that our National Democracy Award will create renewed interest and concern for all those who are working so hard to deepen the democratic process we have seen in Afghanistan,” said NED Chairman Vin Weber. Afghanistan held presidential elections in October 2004 and plans to hold parliamentary elections in 2005. The three Afghan honorees are leaders of civil society organizations that educate average citizens about democracy, women’s and minority rights and strategies for peace-building and conflict resolution, according to a statement from the NED. Mohammad Nasib is the director of the Welfare Association for Development of Afghanistan, which has trained a network of more than 1,000 maliks, or local leaders, in the philosophy and practice of democracy and human rights. That network was influential in encouraging people to vote in the 2004 Afghan elections, according to the NED’s Web site. The Cooperation Center for Afghanistan, directed by Sarwar Hussaini, is a nongovernmental organization that seeks to empower women and strengthen democratic practices within traditional institutions by promoting citizen participation. The center also runs a children’s rehabilitation center that provides education, food and recreation. The NED, a private nonprofit organization, has been giving its annual democracy award since 1989. This is the first time it has acknowledged the work of Afghan activists.