Shabnam Nasimi


Shabnam Nasimi is a British-Afghan social activist, writer, and political commentator. She served as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister for Afghan Resettlement, Victoria Atkins MP, and to the Minister for Refugees, Lord Harrington. A member of the Conservative Party, she is also the co-founder and CEO of the Friends of Afghan Women Network, launched alongside journalist Sarah Sands to support Afghan women through advocacy, mentorship, and strategic partnerships.

Early life and education

Nasimi arrived in the United Kingdom in 1999 with her family, fleeing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. They settled in South London as asylum seekers with no English language skills and limited resources. Her father, Nooralhaq Nasimi, earned a PhD in Law in the former Soviet Union and later founded the Afghanistan & Central Asian Association, a UK-based refugee support charity. He was awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to refugees.
Nasimi was educated at St Saviour's and [St Olave's Church of England School] before pursuing a Law degree at the Open University and completing an MSc in Global Governance and International Security at Birkbeck, University of London. She spent part of her early childhood in Ukraine.

Career and public work

Nasimi was appointed Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister for Afghan Resettlement in November 2021 and to the Minister for Refugees in February 2022. In this role, she supported 'Operation Warm Welcome', the UK’s initiative to integrate Afghans resettled after the Taliban's return to power.
In 2024, Nasimi co-founded the Friends of Afghan Women Network with journalist Sarah Sands. The organisation raises awareness of Afghan women's issues internationally and directs support to grassroots efforts within Afghanistan.
In 2019, she founded Conservative Friends of Afghanistan to improve engagement between UK policymakers and the Afghan diaspora. Through this platform, she has supported initiatives that encourage Afghan representation in public life, including mentoring candidates for local council elections.
Nasimi has also worked in local government, strategic communications, and the third sector. She is an advocate for refugee integration, gender equality, and democratic participation.
She has contributed articles to The Times, The Telegraph, The Financial Times, Prospect, Foreign Policy, The i, and other platforms. Her media commentary has been featured on Newsnight, BBC News, ITV News, Channel 4 News, and Channel 5 News, among others.
She runs a newsletter, Our Forgotten Stories, focusing on Afghanistan’s overlooked intellectual and cultural history.

Honours and awards

In 2022, Nasimi was named to the Women in Westminster: The 100 – Ones to Watch list.
In 2019, she was shortlisted as one of the BBC's 100 Women.

Political views and activity

In the May 2021 local elections, Nasimi stood as the Conservative Party candidate for Cranford ward in the London Borough of Hounslow. She received 1,191 votes, finishing second out of five candidates.
She publicly endorsed Boris Johnson during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
She has spoken in support of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU and has publicly stated that she voted for Brexit.