Roya Is Helping Other Women Rise
In Afghanistan, women primarily stick to working around the house rather than building careers outside the home, but Roya Mahboob is changing that as one of the first female CEOs of an IT company in Afghanistan. She helped found Afghan Citadel Software, which primarily employs female programmers. Mahboob also created the Digital Citizen Fund to boost digital literacy and train women in IT.
Mahboob was named TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2013 for her strides in creating opportunities for tech-loving ladies in Afghanistan. Despite severe backlash from critics who don’t want Afghan women to advance, she continues to expand the reach of her programs with the belief that “technology is the link that will bring social change and freedom to conservative nations all over the world.”