via Mtetwa receives International Women of Courage award | SW Radio Africa by Alex Bell on Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was on Tuesday among ten women from around the world awarded with a prestigious annual prize by the American government.
US Deputy Secretary of State, Heather Higginbottom, on Tuesday morning presented the10 women from 10 countries with the 2014 International Women of Courage Award.
First Lady Michelle Obama joined Higginbottom and the awardees as a special guest at the morning ceremony at the U.S. Department of State in Washington.
The annual award recognises women around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk.
Since the inception of the award in 2007, the Department of State has honored 76 women from 49 different countries.
Two Zimbabwean women, rights activist Jestina Mukoko and WOZA leader Jenni Williams, have previously been recipients of the award.
Mtetwa, who has in the past defended both Mukoko and Williams, was awarded along with women from India, Ukraine, Afghanistan and other countries.
The prize is in recognition of her enduring commitment to the rule of law and human rights, despite facing harassment, assault, violence, and arrest by Zimbabwe’s security forces.
COMMENTS
Congrats, you deserve it Woman.
You go girl.. like Woza you are an inspiration.
We love you sis
You make me proud to be a Zimbabwean!!!
Evil will always prevail unless people like Beatrice stand for what is RIGHT!!
Congratulations Beatrice – brave and principled woman.
…and why did she get the award?-because she stands up to a brutish, vile regime that murders and brutalises its citizens with impunity. The very fact that the ‘dear leader’ has ‘ruled’ for 34 years tells you all you need to know. Ruled, mark you, not served. We the citizens pay his wages and he steals and murders with impunity and treats half if not all the citizens with contempt. He allows himself to be portrayed as a cult figure who must never be questioned yet he is a civil servant!! When the citizenry vote him out he crooks the votes. He and his ilk are a blight, a pestilence on the land and have cynically enriched themselves over 34 years by bankrupting the nation.
Congrats and may God bless you.
Well done Beatrice! Thoroughly deserved.
Now that is one lady who we can call ‘The Iron Lady” of Africa. Well done, you are an inspiration. May God Bless you
you did it and we all loving it…stay blessd.
I’m so proud of you sisi, May god give you more strength to pull through, congrats