"I have been listening to Deutsche Welle since I was in school and I also followed the German classes on the radio. I think Deutsche Welle has a positive influence on the development of the media landscape in Afghanistan. It maintains high quality standards, which therefore serve as an example for Afghan media. For some years now, human rights have been re-established in Afghanistan, something Deutsche Welle also greatly contributed towards. Deutsche Welle has interviewed me and other activists on many occasions, thereby helping to give a voice to the calls for human rights in Afghanistan. On this, the 60th anniversary of DW, I would like to congratulate Deutsche Welle and the German government."

Sima Samar served as Minister of Women's Affairs of Afghanistan from December 2001 to 2003 before becoming the the chairwoman of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.