User:Marathonmutig/sandbox1

Yalda Royan ((Persian/Dari/Hazaragi: یلدا رویان) is a leading women's rights activist and human rights defender from Afghanistan and a member of the Hazara ethnic group. She holds a master's degree in gender and women's studies from Kabul University. Before the collapse of Afghanistan's republic at the hands of the Taliban, she worked as a gender advisor for various government and non-government organizations, such as the World Bank, DAI Global, and Asia Foundation. She also worked as the head of the Department of Connection and Provincial Relations of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) - the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from which she resigned after more than a year due to mistreatment and rampant discrimination against minorities, especially the Hazara employees within the department. After the collapse of the Afghanistan government in August 2021, she was evacuated to the US with her two teenage daughters. In exile, Royan continues her activism against the systematic oppression of minority groups, especially the Hazara people and women under the Taliban de facto regime. She is the country team lead for the feminist organization VOICE Amplified as well as the founding member of Afghan Women's Advocacy Group in exile.