Sara Hossain Wins Int’l Women of Courage Award International & National News Clippings Home » Bureaus/Offices Reporting Directly to the Secretary » Office of Global Women's Issues » Programs » Secretary's International Women of Courage Award » 2016 International Women of Courage Award » Biographies Biographies of 2016 Award Winners Bangladesh Sara Hossain is a human rights lawyer who has fought on behalf of Bangladesh’s most disadvantaged and marginalized citizens, particularly women and girls, in her country’s highest courts of law. A barrister in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the Honorary Executive Director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Ms. Hossain played a key role in drafting her country’s first comprehensive legislation on violence against women, which became law in 2010. Ms. Hossain has brought landmark cases challenging practices such as forced veiling, the use of fatwas to impose degrading punishments on women and girls, and the use of non-medical procedures to judge a woman’s virginity in rape and sexual assault cases. Ms. Hossain’s courage, passion, and integrity have earned her the trust of her clients, and respect from human rights advocates around the world. Link: http://www.state.gov/s/gwi/programs/iwoc/2016/bio/index.htm Sara Hossain Wins Int’l Women of Courage Award International & National News Clippings News / USA 2016 Women of Courage Award Winners VOA News March 29, 2016 1:50 PM Women of Courage 2016 Awardee: Sara Hossain Sara Hossain, Bangladesh Hossain is a human rights lawyer in Bangladesh who advocates on behalf of women and girls. She has brought cases in the country’s highest courts to, among others, challenge the practice of forced veiling and using fatwas to punish women. She also played a major part in drafting Bangladesh’s 2010 Domestic Violence Act, which criminalized violence against women. Link: http://www.voanews.com/content/twenty-sixteen-international-women-of-courage-award-winners- bios/3259840.html Sara Hossain Wins Int’l Women of Courage Award International & National News Clippings SECRETARY KERRY HONORS 14 WOMEN OF COURAGE Secretary Kerry Honors 14 Women of Courage Office of the Spokesperson U.S. Department of State - Washington, D.C. 03-28-2016 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will present the 2016 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award to a group of extraordinary women from around the world tomorrow at the U.S. Department of State. The Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award annually recognizes 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 this award in 2007, the Department of State has honored nearly 100 women from 60 different countries. The 2016 awardees are: Sara Hossain, Barrister, Supreme Court, Bangladesh Debra Baptist-Estrada, Port Commander, Belize Immigration and Nationality, Belize Ni Yulan, Human Rights Activist, China Latifa Ibn Ziaten, Interfaith Activist, France Thelma Aldana, Attorney General, Guatemala Nagham Nawzat, Yezidi Activist and Gynecologist, Iraq Nisha Ayub, Transgender Rights Advocate, Malaysia Fatimata M’baye, Co-founder and President of the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights, Mauritania Zhanna Nemtsova, Journalist and Activist, Russia Zuzana Števulová, Director of the Human Rights League, Slovakia Awadeya Mahmoud, Founder and Chair of the Women’s Food and Tea Sellers’ Cooperative and the Women’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative for Khartoum State, Sudan Vicky Ntetema, Executive Director of Under the Same Sun, Tanzania Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit, Bookstore Owner and Co-founder of Creating Awareness for Enhanced Democracy, Thailand Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi, Minister of Legal Affairs, Yemen Full biographies and photos are available here. On April 1, the honorees will travel to cities across the United States to engage with the American people through an International Visitor Leadership Program. They will visit Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, California, North Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania on their individual programs. The women will reconvene in Los Angles to reflect on their visit and discuss ways to work together to improve the lives of women and girls around the world. To mark the milestone of honoring nearly 100 women from 60 countries over 10 years, the State Department will host a forum following the ceremony. The International Women of Courage Award ceremony and forum will be open to credentialed members of the media and livestreamed at www.state.gov. Please click here for more information. Use #WomenOfCourage for news and updates about this year’s award. For more information on these events, contact Rachel Wallace at [email protected]. Source: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/03/255216.htm Link: http://www.humanrights.gov/dyn/03/secretary-kerry-honors-14-women-of-courage/ Sara Hossain Wins Int’l Women of Courage Award International & National News Clippings THE FULLY LOADED MAGAZINE 29 MARCH 2016INTERNATIONAL US Honours 'International Women of Courage' The United States issued awards today to 14 lawyers, activists, humanitarians and reformers said to represent "International Women of Courage." "Fourteen leaders, fourteen role models, fourteen women of courage, one crystal clear message," said Secretary of State John Kerry. "Don't accept the unacceptable or wait for someone else to step up. Act in the name of justice. Act in the name of tolerance. Act on behalf of truth." All but one of the honorees were able to attend the ceremony in Washington, an annual event that began in 2007 to encourage women's empowerment. Bangladeshi barrister Sara Hossain helped draft her country's laws on violence against women and has argued landmark rights cases before the supreme court. Debra Baptist-Estrada is commander of the immigration department at Belize's main airport and has worked with US officials against corruption and trafficking. Ni Yulan, a disabled Chinese property rights lawyer, was the only honoree not to receive her award in person, having been forbidden from traveling by her government. France's Latifa Ibn Ziaten became an activist promoting interfaith dialogue in 2012 after her soldier son was slain by Islamist extremist Mohamed Merah. Attorney General Thelma Aldana of Guatemala began her career as a courtroom janitor and has now brought corruption charges against the highest in the land. Nagham Nawzat Hasan is an Iraqi gynecologist and a member of the country's persecuted Yazidi minority. She works with girls kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants. Transgender rights advocate Nisha Ayub continues to work for justice despite being sexually abused after being sentenced to a men's prison for wearing women's clothing. Mauritania's first female attorney Fatimata M'baye was honoured as co-founder and president of the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights and fights slavery. Russian journalist Zhanna Nemtsova has braved death threats to campaign for justice for her father, former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov, assassinated last year. Zuzana Stevulova, director of the Human Rights League of Slovakia, is the foremost champion of the rights of refugees flowing into Europe from war in the Middle East. Awadeya Mahmoud, founder of the Women's Food and Tea Sellers' Cooperative in Sudan has championed the rights of small businesswomen against authoritarian government. Former BBC journalist Vicky Ntetema exposed the trade in the body parts of murdered albinos used in ritual magic amd now leads an NGO dedicated to ending it. READ MORE IN: PLACES: USA | TAGS: WOMEN, AWARDS/RECOGNITION | SECTION: INTERNATIONAL Sara Hossain Wins Int’l Women of Courage Award International & National News Clippings OUTLOOK 29 MARCH, 2016 Link: http://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/us-honours-international-women-of-courage/934941 primenews.com.bd March 29, 2016 By PN Upload Department 0 Comments Sara to receive US Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award 2016 Barrister Sara Hossain would be given the US Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award 2016 in Washington D.C tonight and she has already reached the United States to receive the award. The award would be handed over to Sara Hossain at a ceremony to be held at 8:30pm (BST) today and 10:30am (US time) in presence of US Secretary of State John Kerry and 13 other awardees from around the world, a US Embassy statement said here today. She has been nominated for the award for demonstrating exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk. Sara Hossain, daughter of eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain, is a human rights lawyer who has served as a powerful voice for Bangladesh’s most disadvantaged and marginalised citizens, particularly women and girls, in her country’s highest courts of law. A Barrister in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the Honorary Executive Director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Ms. Hossain played a key role in drafting her country’s first comprehensive legislation on violence against women, which became law in 2010. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Award, for which nearly 100 women have been recognized, the release added. Link: http://primenews.com.bd/en/?p=33896 Sara Hossain Wins Int’l Women of Courage Award International & National News Clippings Tuesday, March 29, 2016 Barrister Sara Hossain wins Women of Courage Award By News Desk 29 March 2016 The US Department of State has named Barrister Sara Hossain and 13 other extraordinary women from around the world to honor them with its International Women of Courage Award. US Secretary of State John Kerry will present the 2016 Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award to them at the US Department of State on Tuesday. The Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award annually recognizes 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.