Malika Azad

Malika Azad is a former United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Peace Dialogue  Facilitator in Afghanistan. After the collapse of the republic and the takeover of the  government by the Taliban, Malika was safely  evacuated out of the country as part of a  large group of other Afghan women leaders and now resides in Denver. Malika is currently working as a Family Liaison at Aurora Public Schools, and she is  serving as a Board Member of the Young Professionals group with World Denver. 

As a Peace Dialogue Facilitator with USIP in Afghanistan, she was responsible for facilitating dialogue and promoting social  peace-building and co-existence at the grassroots level.  Prior to joining USIP, Malika was a Gender Specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture,  Irrigation, and Livestock in Afghanistan. The project was  funded by the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Malika was responsible for the  implementation of women-led projects to promote alternative development in the  country’s highest poppy-cultivated areas. Malika also served as Agriculture Extension  Officer at the World Bank-funded National Horticulture and Livestock program, under  the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock. Malika was  responsible for overseeing the provision of new agricultural technology to the rural  areas of the Kabul region. 

Malika also has extensive experience in  women’s economic empowerment initiatives. She served as an advisor to the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an organization that advocated for the interests of Afghan businesswomen, and supported female economic empowerment. She actively promoted vocational training to vulnerable women in the central highlands of Afghanistan. She helped create job opportunities for more than 500 women and drew a pathway to their self-sufficiency. Malika earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the Kazakh National Agriculture University of Kazakhstan.