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Hoda Khamosh

Journalist, poet and women's rights activist

Hoda Khamosh was was born in Isfahan, Iran, in 1996. She started primary education in her hometown and then returned to Afghanistan after twelve years of migration. In Afghanistan, after passing the entrance examination for higher education, she started her education at Faculty of Language and Literature of Syed Jamaluddin Afghan University.

During her studies, she collaborated with visual/audio and written media and continued to work in cultural/social institutions. Slowly and steadily, she got interest to being a part of literature world, especially poetry.

In 2019 Hoda Khamosh published her first collection of poems called "Mibosamat” and found her fans in the cultural and literary community, this collection of poems prepared under the name "Mibosamat" expresses erotic matters that were published on the path of institutionalization and culture.

Later she founded G2B center for women, she created work for women who sold hand-embroidered and traditional clothes. She was also the first woman to open a magazine and book printing center by launching Parvaz Publications. She started campaigning for women's rights and was named one of the 100 most influential women by the BBC.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and all women were deprived of work and education, she also found herself in a dangerous deadlock and after a short period of time she could not bear this situation. Therefore, she went to the streets with a group of protesting women. At the first opportunity, she published her second book called (Virginity Dropped) by Aftab Publishing House and was selected as one of the hundred most influential personality by Norway Amnesty International Organization.

She was selected in a meeting with the Taliban in Oslo at the invitation of the Norwegian government, who stood up against the Taliban's blatant lies and demanded the release of protesting women in Taliban prisons.

She continued to face many threats with this stance, which prevented her from returning to her homeland and won her a Time magazine award. Now she lives in Norway, where she works with an organization registered under the name of the Afghan Women's Movement for Justice.

At Norway Summit 2024, Hoda will participate in a panel discussion. Together with Cidi Nzita and Oksana Babyak, we will delve into stories of resilience and activism in the panel "From Adversity to Advocacy: Voices of Change and Empowerment".