Azita Ghanizada is a Middle-Eastern actress, known for portraying Dr. Saira Batra on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital spinoff Night Shift.
Career[]
She is also known for her portrayal of Rachel Pirzad on Alphas (2011-12), Kendra Zahir on Good Trouble (2019–20), and Ariana on United States of Al (2021–22).
Ghanizada is also a notable advocate for both Middle Eastern North African (MENA) and South West Asian North African (SWANA) performers in Hollywood, and women in Afghanistan. In 2016, she founded the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition, MAAC; and in 2017 she succeeded in lobbying the Screen Actors Guild and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (SAG-AFTRA) with other performers to include MENA as its own diverse category in theatrical contracts. This success marked the first new hiring category in a labor contract in 37 years. She also works as a global Ambassador for "Women for Women International", focusing on getting women in Afghanistan back to work and educated.