Senator, Afghanistan
Dr. Anarkali Kaur Honaryar is a member of the Afghan senate and the first Sikh and non-Muslim member of the Afghan parliament. She was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. She graduated with honors from Afghanistan University as a dentist. During the Taliban era, women were not allowed to work or study but she persisted, and worked as a vaccinator at a hospital. When she was expelled for being a Sikh, she decided to champion the cause of women’s rights. After the defeat of the Taliban, Dr. Honaryar was nominated as a member of the Grand Council, the Loya Jirga. In 2011, she was honored with the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence.