At the age of 19, Manizha Wafeq traveled to Oklahoma City with 13 women to participate in Peace Through Business, a program to support women from her native Afghanistan to become entrepreneurs. No sooner had they arrived in the United States when it became clear that three of the women did not speak enough English to follow the lectures. Manizha volunteered to serve as an interpreter. She taught them to type in Farsi on their laptops, creating an alternate keyboard to the English one they had. Sitting beside them, she assisted them in writing their business plans, all the while working on her own.  The rest, as they say, is herstory.

Now, more than 20 years later, she has garnered a wealth of experience in development, with a dedicated focus on women’s empowerment and gender equality. She has positively impacted the lives of thousands of women. In her role as the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS country facilitator and trainer, she has directly trained and mentored approximately 800 women from over 17 provinces of Afghanistan in the last 17 years. She has co-authored a training manual on Business Start-ups and contributed to the creation of “Gender and the Legal Framework of Afghanistan.”

Manizha Wafeq has learned valuable lessons through years of working to change the lives of women in her native Afghanistan, a country of 41 million people that has seen dramatic cultural shifts in recent years. “Long term commitment, patience and building your network with the right people” are key, she says. She admits to a revolutionary streak in her personality. She is someone who is not afraid to take on whatever challenges await her.

But big change takes time. “You have to keep on learning,” she says.  If you don’t learn, you will never succeed. Passion only goes so far.  You have to be well versed. You have to take the time to learn what you need to make the changes you want to make.”

She is the winner of several awards such as the Enterprising Women Magazine’s Advocacy and Leadership Award, Leadership Award from the National Business Association of the US, and Young Activist Award from the Afghan Women's Network and the Afghan Lower House of the Parliament. She also won the award for the best membership services and entrepreneurship development of SMEs at the 11th World Chambers Congress.

She has MBA from the American University of Afghanistan and she is the mother of a 9 year old daughter.

You can listen to Manizha’s episode here.