Farida Momand

Momand was born in 1965 in the Momand Dara District of Nangarhar Province. She is of Pashtun descent. She studied at Rabia Balkhi High School and received a BA in Medicine from Kabul University.[1]

Momand is a medical doctor and has worked in several government hospitals.[2] She was a professor at Kabul Medical University.[1] Her husband was a spokesman for the Northern Alliance which sought to keep the Taliban from power. When the Taliban took over Kabul in 1996, the family received death threats and fled to Pakistan.[1][3] They returned in November 2001, when Kabul was liberated.[3] Momand returned to the medical school and was appointed dean. She was also elected to represent female university students and employees.[3]

Momand was one of more than 400 candidates for Kabul Province in the 2005 parliamentary election.[4] She was also a candidate for the 2009 provincial election and the 2010 parliamentary election.[1]

Momand was appointed as Minister of Higher Education in the cabinet of President Ashraf Ghani in April 2015.[2][5] As Minister, she called for transparency in university examinations,[6] advocated for women in scholarship,[7] and supported the launch of the first programs in gender studies and women's studies at Kabul University.[8][9]

In 2016, the Wolesi Jirga began impeachment proceedings for ministers who had failed to spend more than 70% of their development budgets for the year.[10][11] Momand was one of seven ministers dismissed over four days.[1][12] She was summoned to report on her development budget spending for the year and when she did not appear on the day, was dismissed in her absence.[13] President Ghani called the dismissals "unjustifiable" and urged the Supreme Court to intervene,[10][14] while CEO Abdullah Abdullah urged the ministers to keep working until the relevant constitutional article was interpreted.[15][16][17]

Momand is married to Habib Rayed and they have five children.[3][4]