Zarifa Ghafari in conversation

Ghafari was just three years old when the Taliban banned girls from school, and she began her education in secret. She was twenty-six when she became mayor – the only female mayor in the country – of Maidan Wardak, Kabul.

Her tenure was met with violence: an extremist mob barred her from her office; her male staff walked out in protest; assassins made six attempts on her life. She condemns the Taliban for the death of her father, whom gunmen killed in November 2020. And yet, she persisted, promoting peace in the province and fighting to lift up women – despite the growing threat of the Taliban’s return to power.

In an astonishing new memoir Ghafari tells the story of her fight for survival and her escape from Afghanistan in August 2021. Her story is also the subject of In Her Hands, a new Netflix documentary produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, which takes place over two years – a time in which Afghanistan changed forever.

Ghafari will talk about her work and achievements in Afghanistan, the women she still tries to help as they live under Taliban rule, and her vision for how grassroots activism can change their lives and the lives of women everywhere.