Shakardokht (Shakar) Jafari born in rural Afghanistan, became a refugee aged just six, after a harrowing half-year trek to Iran.

There, at fourteen, she discovered she had been promised in marriage at birth to an older cousin. Resisting no fewer than three arranged marriages, she fought to choose her own husband, education and career, defying convention to study radiation technologies at Tehran and Tabriz medical universities.

Returning to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban, she worked as; assistant professor in Kabul Medical University, supervisor of radiology department in French Medical Institute for Children, and Leadership council member of Afghanistan Atomic Energy High Commission. She was asked to lead the re-establishment of a cancer facility in Kabul, which meant studying first for higher qualifications in the UK.

During her PhD in the Surrey University, she invented a method for improving outcomes of radiotherapy on cancer patients, Shakar has become one of Britain's leading medical entrepreneurs. Ironically, at the same time she has faced one of her biggest battles – to save her own health.

Shakar, winner of a string of awards for business innovation, is also a leading campaigner for girls’ education in Afghanistan and is chairperson of charity “Education Bridge for Afghanistan”.

 

The charity "Education Bridge for Afghanistan”, is currently working on Afghanistan girls access to education (AGATE) initiative to provide free online education to deprived girls of grade 7-12 in Afghanistan or those who became refugees and don’t have access to education at the moment. All members and educators are currently working voluntarily to make this happen and we are calling for help to continue the work and cover more students.