JEMB Commissioner Najla Ayubi has always set about finding solutions to problems. This drive has resulted in an extraordinary education and career finding problems to solve in law, journalism, philosophy, tailoring, the Afghan Constitution and now Afghanistan 's first presidential and parliamentary elections.

Ms. Ayubi's family has always been a little unusual for her culture, encouraging their children to pursue their education and independence of mind before marriage or children. Her father was an English teacher who had a number of friends from all over the world, and would bring home magazines and books for her and her three sisters and three brothers: she started reading at age eight, she says, and never stopped. At 16, she began attending courses in the Faculty of Law at Kabul University , and within six months was offered a scholarship to go study in Tajikistan . “My family trusted me. People talked, of course—how can you let your daughter go alone? But my father pushed us to continue our education, and I keep this trust of my family up to now.”

In Tajikistan , she attended courses in law and politics during the day and courses in philosophy and journalism at night, graduating after six years with three diplomas, advanced tailoring skills and a dream of being a pilot in the Air Force. Every subject interested her, she says, and she wanted the knowledge to be prepared to tackle anything.

Upon her return to Afghanistan , Ms. Ayubi left behind her pilot dream to take up a position as a Court Clerk in Parwan, earning her qualification as a judge within one year. She adjudicated criminal, commerce and family law, and says her gender was never a problem. “But you know I was flexible: I was a good member of the family, and people respected me.”

When the Mujaheddin came to power, she became a lawyer, but her education in Tajikistan and fluency in Russian raised suspicions, and every paper she prepared had to be signed by someone else. As a lawyer defending others' rights, she mourned the loss of her own, which she says gave her a unique perspective on injustice and discrimination.

At age 25, Ms. Ayubi heard the sound of the gunshot from her home, and started running down the street to find out what had happened. “My daughter, it is your father,” cried a neighbour. The hole in his chest was the size of her finger, but all she could think about was getting medical help and keeping her family calm. “I didn't cry; I kept myself in control. I just kept thinking about a solution, about how we could solve this problem. I trusted myself.” When community members offered to find her father's killer, her family declined to meet him or to even consider vengeance. His conscience was enough, she says: “We lost our father, but we cannot lose everyone. He was our greatest supporter and friend, but we cannot kill forever.”

Under the Taliban, Ms. Ayubi's home in Parwan was destroyed, and she and her family came to Kabul . For six years, her underground women's tailoring business was the only income for her family. Although she was grateful to have a skill that could support her family, she dearly missed being active in civil life: “It was so frustrating to have all these skills that I couldn't use.”

When the Taliban fell, she was sitting in her house when she heard an announcement on the radio from the government encouraging all women to return to work. She put on a burqa—security was still poor at that point, and no one was sure what the norms were—and promptly went to the Ministry of Justice to apply for a job. She continued to wear the burqa for three more months after that—“In justice, it's so important to be able to look people in the eyes, and I couldn't!”—but all of her experience and knowledge came back to her easily as she started reviewing cases.

It was in Afghanistan 's Constitution-making process that Ms. Ayubi began feeling useful and fully alive for the first time. She was hired as a Research, Public Consultation and Public Information Officer to talk to Afghans all over the country about what they wanted in a constitution, what the constitution would mean for them and the future of democracy in the county. She was particularly interested in helping improve women's rights and political participation. “I became so much stronger: I felt I can do something; I felt free. I really pushed myself.” The outcome was a tremendous reward: “We did a perfect job. We really made people aware of the process, and we pushed through an article on women's rights. For me this was especially important: Afghan women have been suffering for so long.”

In April 2004, Ms. Ayubi joined JEMBS as a Senior Public Outreach Officer, and in January 2005 President Karzai appointed her to the IAEC. After so many years, she says, she has finally found her field: “In criminal law, I can help 1,000 people. In politics, I can help all of Afghanistan . I like democracy. I like freedom.” Her drive is a hybrid of her past: her early studies of philosophy have mixed with her love for and experience with justice and democracy to create a mind open to the world: “I have no discrimination against anybody. I'm thinking about everyone all the time, about how to compromise. You have to think of humanity above all.”