Rina Amiri (born ) is an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

-born American diplomat and activist who served as the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women, girls and human rights from 2022 to 2025. She served as senior advisor to the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration, has served in the United Nations in several peace building capacities, and has held senior positions in programs at Harvard, Princeton, and New York University. She has provided political analysis and commentary on MSNBC, PBS, CNN, and CSPAN, and was recognized as 125 Women of Impact by Newsweek.

Early life and education

Amiri was born in Afghanistan. In 1973, at four years old, she became a refugee when her parents left secretly through the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...

out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan. They later moved to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

before settling in California. In 2007, Amiri completed a masters of arts in law and diplomacy, mediation, and international relations at the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

Career

In 2002 when United States Senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

spoke at a forum at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at

after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

in 2001 and opened the floor to questions, she said "the color of our hair and our skin does not reflect what is in our hearts and minds... The Afghan population is not the Taliban. They have been the first victims of the Taliban." She subsequently became a speaker on Afghanistan who appeared repeatedly in national media. Discussion about "Engaging Afghan Women and Civil Society in U.S. Policymaking" in 2022. Left to right: Palwasha Hassan, Asila Wardak, Naheed Sarabi">Asila_Wardak.html" ;"title="Palwasha Hassan, Asila Wardak">Palwasha Hassan, Asila Wardak, Naheed Sarabi and Amiri. Amiri was an advisor to Richard Holbrooke, who served as a special advisor to President Barack Obama on Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2015, she appeared in the documentary film ''The Diplomat'' about the life of Holbrooke, filmed after his death. On December 29, 2021, U.S. Secretary of State

Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...

announced her appointment as special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights. Rina Amiri - United States Department of StateShe took office on January 6, 2022. The appointment came as women in the country were facing increased oppression by the ruling Taliban. She has also worked to raise international awareness of the plight of Afghan refugees who have been "stranded everywhere" and face years of uncertainty.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amiri, Rina Living people Afghan refugees Afghan expatriates in Pakistan United States special envoys Afghan emigrants to the United States The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Obama administration personnel Women diplomats for the United States 1969 births