2011 International Women of Courage Awards

U.S. Embassy Statement
Minsk, Belarus
March 9, 2011

On March 8, 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted the International Women of Courage Awards (IWOC) Ceremony in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day and to acknowledge the courage and conviction of ten brave women chosen as 2011 IWOC Awardees. The women were honored for fearlessly advocating, often at great personal risk, the rights of women and fundamental human rights and democratic principles.  Participating in the event, including eight of the awardees, were First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and several members of the U.S. Congress.

Regarding the 2011 IWOC Honorees, Secretary Clinton in her remarks stated that they “have have truly done heroic work to advance freedom, equality, opportunity, and dignity for all.”  The awardees include Rosa Otunbayeva, President of Kyrgyzstan; Maria Bashir, Afghanistan; Henriette Ebongo, Cameroon; Jianmei Guo, China; Agnes Osztolykan, Hungary; Eva Halaveh, Jordan; Marisela Ibanez, Mexico; Ghulam Sughra, Pakistan; Nasta Palazhanka, Belarus; Yoani Sanchez, Cuba.

This year’s awardee from Belarus, Nasta Palazhanka, along with Yaoni Sanchez of Cuba, could not attend the ceremony because their governments would not allow them to travel. “She [Palazhanka] has been living through such a difficult time,” Secretary Clinton noted in her remarks.  “A country right in Europe that is still oppressing its people, rigging elections, jailing political opponents in the most brutal and oppressive ways, is an intimidating force.  But, she has stood up and spoken out.  So for her resolute commitment to promoting civil society and youth political activism, and bravely helping to chart a peaceful path toward democratic society, we applaud her.”