Afghan teacher Zholia Parsi and Tajik human rights defender Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov are this year’s winners of the Martin Ennals Prize in Geneva. They will be rewarded Thursday evening, said Tuesday the Foundation which manages this Nobel Prize for human rights.
The Martin Ennals Prize, supported by the City of Geneva, has been awarded every year for 30 years by ten NGOs. Among them are Amnesty International, the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), which meet in Geneva. Each winner receives 20,000 francs.
“It’s quite rare to have these NGOs cooperating. They choose particularly committed winners whose prize allows them to continue and develop their commitment,” explains the president of the Martin Ennals Foundation Board, Me Philippe Currat.
Regarding the winners, “They paid too heavy a price for justice and equality to be respected in Afghanistan and Tajikistan,” said jury president Hans Thoolen. And to call on the international community to support their efforts.
Two unique contexts
After the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Ms. Parsi lost her job, like most women, and her daughters were no longer able to access education. She launched an Afghan Women’s Protest Movement (SMAW), organizing numerous protests despite threats of repression.
Since then, it is now present in several regions of the country and brings together more than 180 people. Arrested in September 2023 in the street with her son, Ms. Parsi was released after three months and numerous abuses, including torture.
For his part, Mr. Kholiqnazarov is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for his human rights activities. This lawyer from an autonomous region called for international standards to be associated with national legislation and policies.
His role was important in the investigation into the death of a young activist in 2021 and the suppression of subsequent protests in which two people were killed. According to it, a possible extrajudicial execution and excessive use of force were perpetrated.
