Shataakshi Verma is the founder of Art of Freedom in Kabul, Afghanistan, established in 2020. The organization is dedicated to empowering young women from minority groups through art and creative mediums, while also advocating for their right to peace in South and East Asia. With over a decade of experience, Shataakshi is a gender justice and minority rights activist, women, peace, and security advisor, refugee rights advocate, and human rights worker. She worked in Afghanistan until 2021 but was forced to leave the country after the Taliban regained control. Despite this, she continues to work in conflict-affected regions, focusing on gender-inclusive peacebuilding and using art to help build resilience among local women peacebuilders. Currently, she works with Reporters Without Borders as the Asia-Pacific Bureau Program and Development Manager, where she manages capacity-building and advocacy programs for journalists and media organizations affected by authoritarian regimes in the Asia-Pacific.