Global Watch Group (GWG) History

GWG was founded in 2000 by Zorah Rasekh, an internationally known documenter of, and spokesperson on, the treatment of women under the Taliban and the affects of oppressive regimes on women’s mental and physical health (see Founder's Bio); by Rina Amini, a senior associate at the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government specializing in Central Asia; and by Cynthia Johnston, a physician who traveled to Afghanistan prior to the 2001 conflict to document the availability of primary healthcare, and to prescribe means for providing healthcare to the hardest to reach people, in one of the most economically challenged regions in the world: northern Afghanistan.

Highlights of GWG activities since its founding include:

• Undercover documentation of the treatment of women under the Taliban, and an analysis of its affects on women’s physical and mental health;
• Presentations to policymakers, colleague organizations and the general public on the results of its research, including the United States Congress, and the White House;
• Over 50 media appearances and mentions in the press, including an in-depth interview on CNN;
• Conducting an initial needs assessment of basic and emergency healthcare needs in northern Afghanistan.

Mission | Objectives | History | Founder's Bio | Officers, Board and Partners