When Zimbabwean Jestina Mukoko could no longer tolerate the abuse of human rights in her country, she founded Zimbabwe Peace Project to speak out against politically motivated abuses of human rights. Because of this, she spent months in prison. For her tireless work on behalf of human rights in Zimbabwe, this year Jestina earned one of 10 International Women of Courage Awards. During the awards ceremony held at the State Department, Jestina spoke on behalf of all the recipients. Read the remarks here.
But why the photo of Jestina standing by an exhibit case in the State Department's… more »
Today, Secretary Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the annual International Women of Courage Awards at the Department of State. To mark International Women's Day, the annual award recognizes women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights and women's advancement.
Secretary Clinton announced the 10 winners of this year's International Women of Courage (IWOC) award: Shukria Asil (Afghanistan), Col. Shafiqa Quraishi (Afghanistan), Androula Henriques (Cyprus), Sonia Pierre (Dominican Republic), Shadi Sadr (Iran), Ann Njogu (Kenya), Dr. Lee Ae-ran (Republic of Korea), Jansila Majeed (Sri Lanka), Sister Marie Claude Naddaf (Syria), and Jestina Mukoko (Zimbabwe). Read… more »
About the Author: Kristin M. Kane is a Public Diplomacy Officer in the Bureau of International Organization (IO) Affairs. She is attending CSW as part of the USUN-New York Press and Public Diplomacy team.
When I walked into Conference Room 4 of the Secretariat at the United Nations, I knew right away that this was not going to be a typical UN panel discussion. Seated at the head of the table was a woman with short-cropped, platinum blonde hair in a bright red shirt with bold white letters spelling "HIV Positive." She was singer Annie Lennox, formerly of the Eurythmics. The moderator, UNAIDS Executive Director, Mr. Michel Sidibe, opened up the session on a "Call for Action on Women, Girls, Gender, Equality, and HIV" by showing Annie… more »
About the Author: Kristin M. Kane is a Public Diplomacy Officer for the Bureau of International Organization (IO) Affairs. She is attending CSW as part of the USUN-New York Press and Public Diplomacy team.
After the recent pounding of snow on New York City, at Monday's opening of the 2010 Commission on the Status of Women, or CSW, the sun was shining, the sky was bright, and the first day of March almost felt like the first day of a new season. Indeed, women who had come from around the world for the annual CSW meeting and side events arrived at the United Nations headquarters dressed in colorful clothing and wearing confident and contagious smiles, eager to take on the challenges… more »
About the Author: Saba Ghori serves as South and Central Asia Specialist and Violence Against Women Advisor for the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, and covers the countries of South and Central Asia, including Afghanistan.
Understandably, much of the discussion about Afghanistan’s future focuses on security and military issues – on the surge, and on the international community and the Afghan military working together to defeat the Taliban. These issues are critically important. But the United States also has a civilian strategy in place that focuses on economic and social development, good governance, rule of law, and human rights. Afghan women are central to each of these goals.
like it ! Excellent tool for women to protect ourselves !!
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Gary in Washington DC writes:
I agree that men and boys play critical roles in addressing the violence against women, and the government and NPOs should keep educating males to respect…
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John in Indonesia writes:
live in harmony in our family, no violence at all, positive thinking, hoping that our neighbour will see and copy us.
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May 24: Secretary Clinton and Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Michael Posner will release the 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices at 10:30 a.m. more »
May 23: The State Department, through its office of the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), is pleased to announce $1.5 million in funding to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to support open governance and political participation in the Middle East and North Africa. more »
![Annie Lennox in World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, Berlin, Germany Nov. 10, 2009.[AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0304_Annie_Lennox_UN_m.jpg)
![Two women in Mukjar, Sudan, April 22, 2007. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0302_women_commission_m.jpg)
![Women at sewing center in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Nov. 2, 2009. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0125_women_kandahar_m.jpg)
