(Geneva) An Afghan teacher and an imprisoned Tajik lawyer won the Martin Ennals Prize on Tuesday, one of the most prestigious prizes in the world in the field of human rights, with the jury praising their “exceptional courage”.
Posted at 4:23 p.m.
Zholia Parsi, a Kabul teacher who began protesting for women’s rights after the Taliban returned to power three years ago, shares the Prize with lawyer Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence for his action in favor of human rights in his country.
The president of the Prize jury, Hans Thoolen, said that these were “exceptional winners who paid too high a price for justice and equality to be respected in Afghanistan and Tajikistan”.
“The international community must support their efforts instead of competing for geostrategic interests in the region,” he added.
Mme Parsi began activism after losing his job and seeing his daughters deprived of education following the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
She founded the Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women (SMAW), which mobilized communities in several provinces to resist the policies and practices of the Taliban, the jury said.
The same day, another Afghan girl, a teenager living in Canada, who recorded herself singing in protest against the Taliban regime, won the International Children’s Peace Prize, awarded in Amsterdam by the KidsRights organization.
Read the article “Afghan teenager living in Canada honored”
Mr. Kholiqnazarov is a human rights lawyer belonging to the Pamiri ethnic group from the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) region in eastern Tajikistan.
He heads the Pamir Lawyers Association and advocates in particular for minority rights and the integration of international human rights standards into national legislation.
The Martin Ennals Prize, named after the first Secretary General of Amnesty International, was first awarded in 1994.
The jury is made up of representatives from 10 major human rights organizations, including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch.
The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday in Geneva.
Related News :