Rangina Hamidi

Rangina Hamidi, as founder and president of Kandahar Treasure, the first women’s private enterprise in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Rangina provides life changing economic opportunity for 300 Afghan women, giving them a for profit platform for Kandahar’s unique embroidery work. As one of Kandahar’s leading voices for Afghan women, Rangina has guided the development of groundbreaking networks for women, establishing pioneering weekly women’s meetings, social programs and activities for all women in Kandahar. Her work in Kandahar began when Rangina returned to the country in 2003 compelled by the tragedies befalling her countrywomen. She had escaped her native Afghanistan in 1981, at the age of four, during the Soviet occupation. Rangina moved first to Pakistan and then in 1988, settled in the United States with her family, receiving her education at the University of Virginia.