Under the Sisterhood
The Under the Sisterhood Podcast is where women's lived experiences become a catalyst for understanding, connection, and change.
Hosted by Elizabeth Elfenbein, each conversation invites women from around the world to share their stories with honesty, courage, and vulnerability. Together, they explore the moments that shape our lives—from health and mental wellness to leadership, identity, relationships, caregiving, equity, and the many experiences that define what it means to be a woman.
More than a podcast, Under the Sisterhood is a storysharing platform. Every conversation contributes to Women's Lived Experience Intelligence™, helping transform individual stories into insights that can shape healthcare, innovation, research, and culture.
At Under the Sisterhood, we believe every woman's story matters. Through storysharing, we create space for women to be seen, heard, valued, and celebrated—one conversation at a time.
Seasons & Special Editions
Season 1: Being a Woman in Today's World
Season 2: Women's March of Voices
Season 3: Women Making the World Healthier
Season 4: Women's March for Mental Wellness
Season 5: Women's March for Change
Special Editions: Under the Hood Vlogs • Women Investing in Women's Health • Women Making History
Produced by Matt Butler with original music by Ayla Schafer.
Under the Sisterhood
Zarifa Ghafari Sister of the Year for Women's Rights
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Today we’re honoring Zarifa Ghafari our Sister of the Year in Women’s Rights. She’s a mother, daughter, sister, women’s advocate, human rights activist, author, Netflix documentarian and the former Mayor of Maidan Shahr in Afghanistan.
Zarifa Ghafari was one of the few Afghan female mayors and was also the youngest to be appointed, at the age of 24. She is known for her efforts to advance women's rights in Afghanistan. Zarifa was chosen as an International Woman of Courage in 2020 by the US Secretary of State. And received the 2022 International Women's Rights Award at the United Nations Geneva Summit. She was included by the BBC in the list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2019. And she was included in The Badass 50 list. In 2020, she received the award: “Women Who Can Change the World by InStyle.”
Her book, Zarifa, A Woman’s Battle in a Man’s World is a poignant memoir and the inspiration for her Netflix documentary, In Her Hands.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan’s government in mid-August 2021, Zarifa fled with her husband, mother, and five sisters. The German government granted her asylum, and she now resides in Germany.
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