Our Team
Mahboba Rawi
FOUNDER & VICE-PRESIDENT
Born in Afghanistan, Mahboba was forced to flee as a teenager due to her activism against the Soviet occupation. She lived in a refugee camp in Pakistan for two years before marrying and moving to Australia. After her son’s death in 1992, she decided to take action to protect and advocate for children in Afghanistan. This lead to the creation of Mahboba’s Promise. She has plight of women, widows, orphans and girls in Afghanistan, empowering them by providing a home, education and healthcare at grass roots level.
Mahboba is a humble quiet woman who has got things done. She has an intimate and insightful perspective into the Afghanistan situation and deep knowledge of the culture and the social dimensions of humanitarian aid in the country. She has direct access to stories on the ground and her insights and intel provide a personal account of what is really like for women and children to live under Taliban rule.
Mahboba has been awarded an Order of Australia – and was Australian Muslim Woman of the Year in 2012 – the same year that Waleed Aly was named Australian Muslim Man of the Year.
Nawid (Sourosh) Cina
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC RELATIONS
Nawid (Sourosh) Cina is a human rights advocate with a dedicated commitment to international development and gender equality.
Nawid completed his Bachelor of Laws & Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from UTS and undertook his Practical Legal Training at the Refugee Advice & Casework Service. He currently works at the Champions of Change Coalition as a Program Associate, where he contributes to work that involves those in positions of power working towards gender equality reform. Previously, Nawid led the organisation through COVID-19 whilst securing a 15% increase in overall donations, in addition to leading major operational changes domestically and in projects on the ground in Afghanistan.
Nawid pivoted full time back to Mahboba’s Promise in a General Manager capacity following the post-withdrawal crisis. He guided the charity’s response on the ground, especially in relation to continued work for displaced peoples, and led operations locally. In this time, Mahboba’s Promise saw significant growth and public exposure, within 7 weeks. Nawid also led evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, resulting in 17 orphans and staff evacuated to Australia in a land journey. He is currently heading Strategic Relations at the charity and continues to advocate for more visas.
Nawid has been an active youth mentor for boys from disadvantaged communities in Sydney’s South-West and until recently, lead a team to organise the biennial National Muslim Youth Summit, bringing together young Australian Muslims to discuss key social issues. He is the Co-Founder of a new student leadership program called ‘Future Leaders for Gender Equality’.
Khurshida Ajam
PRESIDENT
Manijah Hakim
GENERAL MANAGER
Shehana Talib
SECRETARY
