Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, Founder and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) has been named the 2015 WISE Prize for Education Laureate. Popularly known as Afghanistan's mother of education, Dr.Yacoobi, 65, has spent two decades working persistently to rebuild her country's education landscape, devastated by war. Under her leadership, AIL has established itself as a groundbreaking, visionary organization which works at the grassroots level to empower women and communities. This bottom up approach has triggered a lasting local transformation. Since its establishment, AIL has brought education and health services to at least 12 million beneficiaries living in rural and marginalized areas of Afghanistan.
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Dr. Sakena Yacoobi
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi (born Herat, Afghanistan) is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), an Afghan women-led NGO she founded in 1995. She is well known for her work for the rights of children, women, and education. She has earned international recognition for her work and received numerous awards. This includes the 2013 Opus Prize, 2015 WISE Prize in Education, and 2016 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education and six honorary degrees, including Princeton University.