Rangina Hamidi

Rangina Hamidi was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan. In 1981, she emigrated to Pakistan and then to the USA in 1988 with her family. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in Religious Studies and Women & Gender. Ms. Hamidi returned to Afghanistan in 2003 and took up residence in Kandahar. For two decades, Ms. Hamidi worked tirelessly to better the lives of Afghan citizens through development projects, advocacy, and, most importantly, education. Examples of Ms. Hamidi's accomplishments include the establishment of a full value-chain model of an all-women’s social enterprise in Kandahar whose products have reached Europe, the Middle East, Americas as well as other parts of the world. In this endeavor, Ms. Hamidi designed and implemented a holistic and full-environment approach to bring value to Afghan women at each part of the value chain. Ms. Hamidi successfully led the Mezan International School to integrate and implement a world-class and internationally accredited curriculum with a solid foundation of Islamic education, Afghan history, Afghan values, and multi-lingual education. Most recently, Ms. Hamidi was Minister of Education of Afghanistan, until August 15, 2021. Ms. Hamidi is well versed in child development, educational psychology, educational management, Islamic pedagogy, curriculum, business administration, development in conflict-affected countries, and gender issues from an Islamic perspective. She has contributed to numerous publications and radio programs, including TIMES Asia Magazine, The Globe and Mail, Der Spiegel, Business Week, The Guardian, The Telegraph, NPR, BBC, and Voice of America. Her latest publication is a book that she has co-authored entitled “Embroidering within Boundaries: Afghan Women Creating a Future."