Shazia Z. Rafi is the Managing Director, Global Parliamentary Services, LLC. Ms. Rafi also the UN Representative for the All Pakistan Women’s Association, the oldest and largest women’s organization in the country.
From 1996 to 2013, she was the Secretary-General of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). PGA is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of elected legislators from over 100 countries that leverages parliamentary processes to promote peace, international law, gender equality and reproductive health. PGA was founded in Washington D.C. in 1978 with a focus on nuclear non-proliferation and negotiation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Under Shazia Z. Rafi’s leadership, PGA has successfully promoted the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court; played a critical role in the passage of the Arms Trade Treaty to regulate conventional weapons trade; built international consensus for progressive legislation on gender equality and reproductive health at the Cairo Conference and the Beijing Conference; clean air/clean water legislation focused on urban environmental health and mediated in conflict zones from Azerbaijan to Cote d’Ivoire and Haiti.
Shazia Z. Rafi has been PGA’s first female Secretary-General, the first Secretary-General from the developing world and from an Islamic country, and the organization’s longest-serving chief executive. Under her tenure, PGA has been transformed from an organization facing bankruptcy to a stable, growing and influential player in the worlds of diplomacy, international law and development; with established relations with the United Nations system, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and leading International NGOs.
Ms. Rafi joined Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) in 1993 as Director, Democracy and Development Programs. She was appointed Deputy Secretary-General in June 1995 and Secretary General in June 1996. At PGA, Ms. Rafi has developed projects on the Role of Parliamentarians in Conflict Management and Political mediation; the Role of Parliamentary Committees in Rule of Law and Good Governance; the Role of Parliamentary Leadership in gender equality and women’s empowerment; and the Role of Foreign Aid Committees of Donor parliaments in Development Assistance. Ms. Rafi has published as a journalist in Ms. Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, the New York Daily News, womensmediacenter.com, and Pakistani publications.
Prior to joining PGA, Ms. Rafi served for five years as the United Nations Representative for the All Pakistan Women’s Association, as a consultant to the UN Center for Transnational Corporations and the Women’s Action Alliance.
Ms. Rafi has a Master’s degree in International Political Economy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1983) and she graduated Magna cum Laude from Bryn Mawr College (1979) in Political Science, with junior year in International Relations from the London School of Economics. She is bilingual in English, Urdu; proficient in French, Hindi and Punjabi.
Ms. Rafi has been appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to serve on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), in an individual capacity, for the period of 2012 – 2013. She also serves as founding Board member WomanSG, inaugural advisory board member for the Asian Women’s University, Malaysia; Senior Advisor, Transparency International Defense and Security Program. and advisor/annual speaker to Women in Public Service Summer Institute of the Wilson Center, Washington D.C.
Follow Ms. Rafi on Twitter @ShaziaZRafi
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WMC Features written by Shazia Rafi
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Future of Paris Accord Uncertain as Tillerson Becomes Secretary of State
Scientific American [February 2, 2017] -
Wonder Woman announced as UN ambassador amid staff protest
The Guardian [October 21, 2016] -
Politics Trumps Gender in the Selection of a U.N. Leader
New York Times [October 14, 2016] -
Why is it reigning men at the UN?
Radio NZ [September 16, 2016] -
Will A Woman Finally Lead The United Nations? The 2016 Secretary-General Election Could Make History
International Business Times [January 16, 2016]
Activists whose work incorporates ecological, health, and equality campaigns have moved from protesting outside the halls of power to become elected legislators writing and passing the environmental protection frameworks that they campaigned for.
In the absence of action by the US federal government, local, regional, and business leaders are stepping up all over the world.
Robin on the NYC Hallowe'en terror attack, Mueller trumping Manafort, and why we really need to break up Big Tech. Guests: Jocelyn Olcott on the greatest consciousness raising event ever; Shazia Rafi reports from South West Asia. Surrealism Corner.
In spite of the Trump administration's attacks on the environment, renewable energy is gaining in the market—and women’s leadership is key in the movement away from fossil fuels.
Efforts to push for the first woman head of the U.N. failed last year, but the new secretary-general, António Guterres, has pledged gender parity during his five-year term. How can he make it happen?
As the United Nations General Assembly gathers this week, the Security Council will consider candidates to replace the current secretary-general. Will entrenched sexism get in the way of choosing a woman for the job?
The movement to elect the first woman United Nations Secretary-General is gaining momentum as the year begins.
A new UN report issues a strong call for bringing more women to the table in peace negotiations and all aspects of peacekeeping.
The UN and other international groups are taking a look at the status of women in the media at a time of crisis for freedom of expression and journalist safety.
While women still lag behind men by almost any economic measure, Shazia Rafi reports that all over the world, advocates are building momentum to bring us closer to equality.