Nazenin Wali

Nazenin Wali is an Afghan investigative journalist, multimedia reporter, and human rights researcher whose work focuses on conflict, human rights violations, women’s rights, forced displacement, migration, and accountability in Afghanistan and the wider region.
As an independent journalist, Wali has reported for leading international media organizations, including Deutsche Welle (DW) in Germany, producing investigative features, in-depth reports, and multimedia stories on the human and social consequences of war, authoritarianism, forced displacement, and systemic injustice. Her reporting has documented the experiences and perspectives of Afghan women, journalists, civil society activists, refugees, and other marginalized communities, with a particular commitment to amplifying voices that are frequently overlooked or silenced.
Wali has extensive experience in investigative and field-based journalism, including cross-border investigations into human rights abuses, restrictions on women and girls, forced migration, corruption, and the humanitarian consequences of conflict. Her work is grounded in rigorous fact-finding, source verification, ethical reporting, and a survivor-centered approach. She has particularly focused on documenting the realities of life under Taliban rule and examining the broader implications of Afghanistan’s political and humanitarian crises for regional stability, human security, and fundamental rights.
Wali is an alumna of Bard College and the American University of Central Asia, where she graduated with honors in Psychology. Her academic specialization in the psychology of interpersonal relationships and conflict has informed her interdisciplinary approach to journalism, enabling her to examine violence, trauma, radicalization, displacement, and social transformation through both human-centered and analytical perspectives.
In addition to her reporting, Wali has contributed significantly to strengthening independent journalism and media resilience in Afghanistan. Through initiatives implemented by DW Akademie, she has trained more than 100 Afghan journalists both inside Afghanistan and in exile. Following the Taliban’s return to power, she worked as a journalism instructor, digital security trainer, and safety advisor, supporting journalists operating under heightened risks of censorship, surveillance, intimidation, and displacement.
Born and raised in Afghanistan, Wali began her journalism career in Kabul, where she covered political, social, and human rights issues. After relocating to Germany, she also worked with Caritas as a mental health awareness coordinator, supporting migrant and refugee women through community-based programs focused on psychological wellbeing, resilience, and social integration.
Her professional work lies at the intersection of investigative journalism, psychology, human rights, and conflict studies. Through journalism, media capacity-building, research, and community engagement, Wali remains committed to advancing press freedom, documenting human rights violations, strengthening the resilience of journalists and vulnerable communities, and holding institutions and individuals accountable for abuses of power.