Fawzia Koofi

Fawzia Koofi is Afghanistan's first female deputy speaker of Parliament and a noted activist for women's and children's rights. She is the author of the new book The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future. She is currently a leading candidate for the presidential elections in 2014 and has been quoted by the BBC, Time, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, and many others. Koofi was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009. Before getting elected to Parliament, Koofi was employed by UNICEF as a child-protection officer from 2002 through 2004. The mother of two girls, she lives in Kabul.