Astrid Aafjes
Astrid Aafjes is the chair of the US and the Dutch Board of Directors, as well as the Founder and President of Women Win. She started her career in 1994 in Cambodia with Licadho, a human rights organisation, as the director of the gender department. She also headed a nationwide study, for UNDP and the Ministry of Finance, around micro credit programme for women. In 1996, she moved to Washington DC, and joined Women, Law and Development International and worked with the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women on a global report for the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. In 1997, Ms. Aafjes worked for the Dutch Embassy in China on poverty reduction programmes in China and Mongolia. In 2002, she joined Mama Cash, the first International Women’s Fund, and was responsible for the Programme Department. Ms. Aafjes has focused her career on gender and human rights and gained extensive experience on advancing the lives of girls and women and creating social change through innovative strategies. Ms. Aafjes holds a Law degree from the University of Amsterdam.