Ghazaal Habibyar

Ghazaal Habibyar is an economist and a freelance consultant. She worked as the acting Country Director at Open Society Afghanistan till August 2021. Previously she worked as Deputy Minister and Acting Minister at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. Ghazaal has extensive global experience and knowledge about front-line and policy-level interventions to improve economic growth in low and middle-income countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Her professional and academic interests include economic development, aid management, policy advocacy, gender and policy development, poverty reduction, and gender in Islam. An inspiring professional with a profound understanding of constructs of the quality of the role of women in economic development, Ghazaal has represented Afghanistan in different capacities in international forums and conferences in more than 28 countries in the last ten years. Ghazaal comes with both understanding and experience of work with government, and international institutions such as the United Nations and Civil Society Organizations. She is a graduate of the Australian National University with a master’s degree in International and Development Economics. She also has an MBA from BRAC University. She provides regular analysis through her writings, talks, and scholarly work on conflict, development, and gender. She is a keen reader, researcher, and writer.