Hafizullah Saeedi is an independent researcher and a human rights defender. He holds a Master of Arts in Global Studies from Leipzig University, Germany. He obtained a double degree in International and Comparative Politics from American University of Central Asia and Bard College-NYC, for his undergraduate studies. Hafizullah has a background in human rights advocacy at the United Nations and European Union level. His area of research includes human rights, security and development studies, with a focus on minority issues, countering violent extremism, and humanitarian action. In the context of Afghanistan, he has written extensively on social movements, minorities and hate speech, as well as political participation of women and youth in national processes. He has previously worked with Minority Rights Group International, European Center for Minority Issues, and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. In addition to his mother tongue Persian/Dari, he speaks English, Pashto, Russian and German languages.