First Lady, Secretary of State
celebrate International
Women's Day
WASHINGTON – First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton marked the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day Wednesday by honoring 10 women from around the world with awards that recognize efforts they have made to further women's rights.
During the 2011 Women of Courage Awards ceremony held at the State Department, Clinton called recipient of this year's awards "remarkable," while Obama lauded it as the "one of the most important" events she will attend.
Those honored included Roza Otunbayeva, President of the Kyrgyz Republic and the first woman head of state to receive the award. Maria Bashir, Prosecutor General in Afghanistan's Herat Province; Ghulam Sughra, head of the Mavi Rural Development Organization in Pakistan; and Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez, who founded the Generacion Y blog were also among those honored.
The prestigious award, given to those who have "shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and empowerment, often at great personal risk," was also awarded to Nasta Palazhanka, Deputy Chairperson of Belarusian youth movement Malady Front; journalist Henriette Ekwe Ebongo of Cameroon who publishes a weekly independent newspaper called Bebela; and Guo Jianmei, a lawyer in China and Director of the Beijing Zhongze Women's Legal Counseling and Service Center.
The Honorable Agnes Osztolykan, the only female elected to Hungary's Parliament in 2010 was also chosen for the honor, along with Eva Abu Halaweh, the Executive Director of the Mizan Law Group for Human Rights in Jordan and Marisela Morales Ibañez, the Deputy Attorney General for Special Investigations against Organized Crime in Mexico.
