Mastora Stanikzai is an educator by trade. After over 28 years in pedagogy, Commissioner Stanikzai has parlayed her teaching skills into civic and voter education on behalf of the JEMB.

Born in Imail Khail village in Logar province and raised in an intellectual household, Ms. Stanikzai was exposed to the civil service at a young age - her father was a Senator. He moved the family to Kabul and then to Herat where she graduated from high school and passed her entry exams to attend Kabul University.

Ms. Stanikzai completed her studies in management and observation in the Faculty of Education in 1975. Soon after graduation, she accepted a position as a teacher at Surya High School in Kabul. Rapidly rising in the ranks of the school system, she joined the faculty of Ariana High School a few years later as Deputy Principal. Building on this experience, Ms. Stanikzai accepted the position of Principal at Mahmood Hotaki High School where she oversaw the administration of programs for 330 students and 11 teachers. Three years later, she joined the Ministry of Education.

Following intense fighting in the capital and the continued disintegration of the stability in the country, Ms. Stanikzai and her family decided to leave Afghanistan. In 1373/1994, the family applied for passports and tourist visas to Iran under the pretext of religious pilgrimage.

"But we did not return," Ms. Stanikzai said. "I became a refugee in Iran. Along with my family. We stayed in Iran for 10 years."

During this time, Ms. Stanikzai opened a two-tiered school for Afghan refugees in Tehran. From early morning until mid-afternoon, she taught children from the first to the ninth class to read and write; in the late afternoon and early evening, she provided adult education courses in literacy, first aid, tailoring, carpet weaving, and family guidance.

Her service to the refugee community did not go unnoticed. In 2003, Ms. Stanikzai was one of seven out of 300 candidates to be nominated to represent the Afghan refugee community of Iran as a delegate to the Constitutional Loya Jirga. She accepted the nomination and returned to Kabul.

As a delegate, Ms. Stanikzai said, her objective at the CLJ was clear. "I wanted to emphasize human and women's rights, peace and stability," she said. "I was giving my views and inputs directly and freely in CLJ and its smaller working groups. I engaged in debate very freely and impartially."

After settling into Kabul, Ms. Stanikzai determined that the situation had greatly improved and sent for her family to return and join her.

"I love my own country more than any other," she said. "I purposely chose Iran because it was somewhere very close and I could come back again very easily."

While her immediate family returned with her and two sisters now live in Kabul, some of Ms. Stanikzai's family remain abroad - in France, the U.S., Germany, and Russia.

Her participation in the emergence of the transitional state did not end here. As a member of the "Peacemakers and Representatives of the People" shura, Ms. Stanikzai served as an observer during the polling and counting process for the 2004 Presidential election.

"I believe that elections are the basis of democracy," she said. "They will help bring peace and stability. Parliament is a bridge between the people and the government that make the wishes of the people known."

In late 2004, Ms. Stanikzai was appointed by Presidential decree to the Independent Election Commission of the JEMB. In addition to the regularly scheduled activities of the JEMB Commissioners, she has made a number of visits to the provincial centers including Ghazni, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat to educate voter's about their rights and responsibilities.

In late 2004, Ms. Stanikzai was appointed by Presidential decree to the Independent Election Commission of the JEMB. In addition to the regularly scheduled activities of the JEMB Commissioners, she has made a number of visits to the provincial centers including Ghazni, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat to educate voter's about their rights and responsibilities.

In numerous media interviews and public appearances, Ms. Stanikzai listens and responds in kind. "I respond according to questions, the issues raised by people," she said. "My goal is to leave the floor open to questions, without limits. And to provide impartial and thorough answers."