Farkhunda Zahra Naderi was a member of the High Council for National Reconciliation in Afghanistan until August 2022.
Naderi was nominated by UNDP for its N-Peace Award in 2012 and won the award on behalf of Afghanistan through an electronic voting system. She was the only female representative from Afghanistan who participated in three consecutive unofficial Chantilly Conferences in Paris (2010-2012). In 2015 she participated in an informal Track II with the Taliban in Norway.
Naderi is a former MP and represented Kabul from 2010 to Jun 2015 in the Afghan Parliament. At university, she concentrated on women’s role within Afghan power, where she became convinced that the absence of Afghan women in the Supreme Court is the real challenge for the symbolic presence of women in Afghan politics. Therefore, in her parliamentary campaign, Naderi promised to fight for women’s participation in the Supreme Court. She succeeded to break the taboo by raising voice in the parliament, working with civil society to political groups from national to international levels. Eventually, for the first time in the history of Afghanistan, a female judge was introduced in the Supreme Court by President Ghani.
On March 26, 2013, Naderi’s actions resulted in a change in the role of Afghan Parliamentarians from participatory delegates to politically active players in the Inter Parliamentarian Union (IPU) by being elected as the first Afghan MP to one of the three Standing Committees; the Committee on Democracy and Human Rights. In March 2014, she became the President of the mentioned committee through election.
From 12 Dec 2016 to 04 Nov 2018 Naderi was appointed as the Senior Advisor to the President of Afghanistan on UN Affairs. During her service Naderi expanded her position into a small institution (the senior advisory office) where she with her team with the support of UN counterparts prepared the document of One UN with two attachments of mutual accountability and Action Plans to the President. The document was designed to direct the activities of UN agencies in a more coordinated, effective and sustainable manner. Furthermore, through the senior advisory office, Naderi opened the door of the Arg (Afghan Presidency) to the general public especially to youth by establishing the Arg and Citizen Debate, the Citizen Wall and the Civil Society Dialogue.
Naderi commenced her primary and secondary education in Afghanistan, completed her baccalaureate in 2001 in the UK. In 2007, Naderi graduated with a BA in Legal Studies from Westminster International University in Tashkent.
She was selected as a Young Global Leader 2016 by the World Economic Forum.