Rina Amiri

Rina Amiri (born c. 1969) is an Afghan-born American diplomat and activist serving as the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights since January 6, 2022.

In October 2022 Amiri highlighted that it was 400 days since girls in Afghanistan were allowed to go to secondary school by the Taliban government. She noted that the country was unlikely to thrive while it denied 50% of its population an education. The government said it was considering opening up education for girls above year sixm but no date was offered.

On December 29, 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the appointment of Amiri as special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights. She took office on January 6, 2022. The appointment came as women in the country were facing increased oppression by the ruling Taliban. She has also worked to raise international awareness of the plight of Afghan refugees who have been "stranded everywhere" and face years of uncertainty.

Amiri was an advisor to Richard Holbrooke, who served as a special advisor to President Barack Obama on Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2015, she appeared in the documentary film The Diplomat about the life of Holbrooke, filmed after his death.

In 2007, Amiri completed a masters of arts in law and diplomacy, mediation, and international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

In 2002, Amiri experienced a life-changing event when United States Senator John Kerry spoke at a forum at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and opened the floor to questions. She attracted the attention of the media when she stood up and said that "The color of our hair and our skin does not reflect what is in our hearts and minds...The Afghan population is not the Taliban. They have been the first victims of the Taliban."

Amiri was born c. 1969 in Afghanistan, but when she was four she became a refugee. In 1973, her parents left secretly through the Khyber Pass out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan, before moving to Mumbai and later settling in California. Her father was a physician and her mother would work in a bank. She is a third cousin of Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan.