Sakena Yacoobi

Sakena Yacoobi left her native Afghanistan for the U.S. to earn an undergraduate degree in biological sciences and a masters degree in public health; she returned to teach women and children and facilitate their access to health care. She is a co-founder and president of the Afghan Institute of Learning, an organization that began operating in Afghanistan and in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan when the Taliban imposed tight restrictions on citizens, particularly women.

AIL provided basic literacy programs, teacher training, health and human rights education, and women’s leadership training. In the 1990s, it operated 80 underground schools and mobile libraries in four Afghan cities. Within a few years, there were two health clinics, many mobile health units and vocational training ranging from sewing and carpet weaving to nursing and computer science.