Mastora Popalzai is an Afghan women's rights activist and a teacher with over 20 years of experience.[1] In 2006, she succeeded in creating women association in Mazar e Sharif, who had helped many women in the city to get education which the information being published about them by the Ministry of Education.[2] As of 2010 she serves as one of three female members of the Mazar e Sharif Provincial Council, and as of 2012 she started speaking about forced and child marriages in Balkh province. Popalzai also intervened in the case of a girl rejected by her family for refusing marrying an old man, successfully stopped the marriage although the provincial governor had discouraged her from doing so.[2] Her other work for women's rights includes creating networking groups for women, leading the fight for women's education in rural area of the city , and expanding educational opportunities for young girls and women with little or no education[4]
She has faced threats of kidnapping and death for her work, and had to change her address many times.[4][2]