2004
International Women’s Rights Prize
Honors Work in Afghanistan and Pakistan
The
Peter Gruber Foundation Celebrates Courageous
Efforts to Help Women and Children
St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., December, 2004 –
Visionary educator Sakena
Yacoobi and the Afghan
Institute of Learning (AIL) have been selected by
an international panel of experts to receive the 2004 Women’s
Rights Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation. Professor Yacoobi
is President of AIL, which she founded and leads and which serves
more than 350,000 Afghan women and children annually.
Each year the Foundation presents a gold medal
and a $200,000 unrestricted cash award to individuals and/or
groups that have made significant contributions, often at great
risk, to furthering the rights of women and girls and advancing
public awareness of the necessity of these rights in achieving
a just world. This year’s prize, which is shared by the
Institute and its founder, was presented on December 10, International
Human Rights Day, at the United Nations in New York City. Photos
of ceremony and dinner.
Understanding the tremendous power of education,
Sakena Yacoobi’s parents sent her from her home in war-torn
Afghanistan in the early 1970s to attend the University of the
Pacific in Stockton, California. Once there, she worked feverishly
to improve her reading and writing from the fourth-grade level
and catch up with her classmates. After earning her degree in
Biological Sciences, she went on to earn a Masters in Public
Health from Loma Linda University in 1981. Since 1990 she has
devoted her life to bringing education and health care to Afghan
women and girls in both Afghanistan and the overflowing refugee
camps of Pakistan.
After more than a quarter century of war and
instability, the literacy rate of Afghans, particularly women,
was among the lowest in the world. When many schools closed
in 1995 and the foundations of education throughout the country
were in danger of collapse, Sakena Yacoobi and two other concerned
Afghan women founded the Afghan Institute of Learning to help
address the lack of access to education for women and girls,
their subsequent inability to support their lives, and the resulting
impact on society and culture. They committed AIL, a non-governmental
organization (NGO), to bringing peace and dignity to the Afghan
people as they struggle to overcome oppression, devastation,
and injustice.
During the Taliban years, AIL ran 80 underground
schools as well as mobile libraries in four Afghan cities. By
the end of 2003 the organization served more than 350,000 Afghan
women and girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s refugee
camps through its girls schools and programs in teacher training,
health education, human rights education, women’s leadership
training, and literacy. With its 470 employees, 83% of whom
are women, it is a model and a leader in rebuilding Afghan civil
society.
The official citations reads: “The
Women’s Rights Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation is
hereby proudly presented to Sakena Yacoobi, President of the
Afghan Institute of Learning, for her courageous vision and
leadership in implementing quality education, human rights training,
and safe healthcare for Afghan women and children. Despite significant
personal risk during the time of the Taliban and in the aftermath
of violence and war, she has worked tirelessly to improve the
life, opportunities, and social infrastructure of Afghanistan’s
neediest residents and its refugees in Pakistan.”
“The Women’s Rights Prize of
the Peter Gruber Foundation is hereby proudly presented to the
Afghan Institute of Learning for expanding health and education
opportunities for women and children in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The unwavering commitment of its dedicated teachers, doctors,
and health care providers under the repressive Taliban regime
and during post-war reconstruction has truly empowered hundreds
of thousands of Afghan women and children, citizens and refugees
alike.”
Peter Gruber, founder of the foundation that
bears his name, said, "It is a great disadvantage that
women, who represent half the world's population, are restricted
by laws or customs that hinder not only their basic human rights,
but their contributions to the welfare of all. The work of Sakena
Yacoobi and the Afghan Institute of Learning gives new life
and hope to the women and children of Afghanistan and thereby
to Afghan men and society as a whole. For the liberation of
a person is the liberation of all persons, regardless of gender.”
The Foundation’s Women’s Rights
Advisory Board, a group of eminent individuals known for their
expertise and commitment to women’s rights, selects the
annual winner or winners of the prize. Current members are:
Dr. Linda Basch, Executive Director, National Council for Research
on Women, New York City; The Honorable Bernice Bouie Donald,
U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee; The Honorable
Claire L’Heureux Dubé, retired Justice of the Supreme
Court of Canada; Professor Shadrack Gutto, Director, Centre
for African Renaissance Studies, University of South Africa;
The Honorable Navanethem Pillay, Judge, International Criminal
Court, The Hague, and Women’s Rights Prize laureate 2003;
Kavita Ramdas, President, Global Fund for Women; and Zainab
Salbi, President, Women for Women International.
The Women’s Rights Prize was established
in 2003 and is recognized as the leading international prize
in the field. The co-recipients in 2003 were The Honorable Navanethem
Pillay, the South African judge noted for her leadership of
the United Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda, and Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe (Women Together for Women),
an umbrella organization of Rwandan grassroots women’s
groups.
The Peter Gruber Foundation was founded in
1993 and established a record of charitable giving principally
in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where it is located. In 2000 the
Foundation expanded its focus to a series of international awards
recognizing discoveries and achievements that produce fundamental
shifts in human knowledge and culture. In addition to the Women’s
Rights Prize, the Foundation presents awards in the fields of
Cosmology, Genetics, Neuroscience, and Justice.
South
African Judge, Rwandan Women's Confederation
Win Women's Rights Prize for
Courageous Efforts to Help Rwandan Women
St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., December
10, 2003 -- A South African judge noted for her leadership of
the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR) and an umbrella organization of Rwandan grassroots women's
groups have been chosen the joint recipients of the inaugural
Women's Rights Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation. The Foundation
is honoring them for their leadership in advancing the cause
of human rights for women and for working to assist women who
survived a genocidal war.
The
Honorable Navanethem Pillay and Pro-Femmes
Twese Hamwe (Women Together
for Women) share the cash award of $200,000. Each also received
a gold medal recognizing their leadership in affirming women's
rights. The awards were presented in a ceremony December 10
in New York City at the United Nations.
The winners were chosen by the
Foundation's Women's Rights Advisory Board, an eminent group
of six individuals known for their commitment to women's rights.
The members of the Advisory Board are: Dr. Linda Basch, executive
director of the National Council for Research on Women, New
York; the Honorable Bernice Bouie Donald, U.S. District Court,
Western District of Tennessee; the Honorable Claire L'Heureux
Dubé, retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada;
Prof. Shadrack Gutto, Centre for African Renaissance Studies,
Pretoria; Kavita Ramdas, president, Global Fund for Women, San
Francisco; and Zainab Salbi, president, Women for Women International,
Washington, D.C.
Early in her career, Judge Pillay
distinguished herself as a legal advocate for human rights,
representing opponents of apartheid and political prisoners,
and helping to establish the family violence syndrome as a defense.
She served with numerous groups aimed at protecting and advancing
the rights of women. She was appointed acting judge of the Constitutional
Court of South Africa in 1995, the first black woman attorney
to serve in that capacity. She gained international admiration
as a member, later president, of ICTR, and is widely credited
with influencing the tribunal's precedent-setting decision which
established that under certain circumstances rape can be an
act of genocide.
Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe represents
more than 35 women's groups that joined together after the April
1994 massacres in Rwanda that drew worldwide attention and slaughtered
as many as one million people. Member groups in the organization
support rural development programs, aid for widows and orphans,
health initiatives, and training projects. With a focus on economic
empowerment, Pro-Femmes encourages tolerance and peace.
The official citations for the
Women's Rights Prize for 2003 reads:
"The Women's Rights Prize
of the Peter Gruber Foundation is hereby proudly presented to
the Honorable Navanethem Pillay, former President of the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for her courageous leadership
in advancing women's human rights. The landmark decision of
the ICTR defining rape as an institutionalized weapon of war
and a crime of genocide was a breakthrough for the international
women's movement and validated the organizing efforts by Rwandan
women."
"The Women's Rights Prize
of the Peter Gruber Foundation is hereby proudly presented to
the Network Pro Femmes Twese Hamwe, a national network of women's
groups that represents the courageous women of Rwanda, who constitute
70% of the survivors of genocide and sexual violence. The prize
particularly celebrates the leadership of grassroots women's
organizations for their resilience and commitment to peace,
reconciliation, and nation building."
Peter Gruber, founder of the foundation
that bears his name, said, "Women represent half the
world's population. We established the Women's Rights Prize
to redress restrictive laws and customs that deprive women not
only of their human rights, but also of their ability to enrich
the human condition. Judge Pillay and Pro Femmes Twese Hamwe
have advanced the welfare of all through their dedicated work,
and embody the principles we affirm with this prize."
The Peter Gruber Foundation, a
philanthropic organization based in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
began its international prize program in the year 2000. In addition
of the Women's Rights Prize, the Foundation presents awards
annually in the fields of cosmology, genetics, and justice.
Peter
Gruber Foundation to Give
Annual Prize for Women's Rights
ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I., May 6, 2003
-- The Peter Gruber Foundation announces the establishment of
an annual prize in women's rights beginning this year. The first
winner will be chosen by an international panel of experts in
the field, and the Foundation will present the inaugural award
in late 2003.
The Women's Rights Prize of the Peter
Gruber Foundation will be awarded annually to individuals and
groups that have made significant contributions, often at great
risk, to furthering the rights of women and girls and advancing
public awareness of the necessity of these rights in achieving
a just world. In recognition of the diversity of women and the
field of women's rights, the Prize may honor achievement in any
area including, but not limited to, human rights, social welfare,
education and the arts.
The Women's Rights Prize of the Peter
Gruber Foundation, a gold medal and $150,000 in cash, is an international
award that will be presented without respect to nationality, race,
gender, ethnicity, or religious creed.
The Peter Gruber Foundation is dedicated
to encouraging and rewarding those who have made fundamental discoveries
or have taken courageous stands to further the quality of life
and the knowledge of people around the world. Its other annual
international prizes are in the fields of cosmology, genetics,
and justice.
Peter Gruber, founder of the foundation
that bears his name, said, "It is a great disadvantage that
women, who represent half the world's population, are restricted
by laws or customs that hinder not only their basic human rights,
but their contributions to the welfare of all. The Foundation's
prize for women's rights will honor those whose achievements spotlight
the importance to society of the contributions of women enriching
the human condition."
Members of Foundation's Board of
Advisors for the Women's Rights Prize are:
Linda Basch, executive director of
the National Council for Research on Women. Dr. Basch holds a
doctorate in anthropology from New York University. She was a
professor at Wagner College and Manhattan College and director
of special programs for New York University before taking over
as the executive director for NCRW. She has served in United Nations
forums and has worked in Kenya and Iran and conducted studies
in the Caribbean.
The Honorable Bernice Bouie Donald,
U.S. District Court judge, Western District of Tennessee. Judge
Donald was the first African-American female bankruptcy judge
appointed in the United States and the first African American
female elected as a judge in Tennessee. She has received numerous
awards for her work in and out of the courtroom, including the
Martin Luther King Community Service Award, the Community Services
Award for Youth from the National Conference of Christians and
Jews, and Judge of the Year from the Memphis Bar Association.
The Honorable Claire L'Heureux Dubé,
retired justice, Supreme Court of Canada, is known for her outspoken
support for women and for human rights. She was in private practice
for 21 years before taking the oath of office as a judge in 1973.
She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1987. She
was president of the International Commission of Jurists and has
served on many boards and commissions, including the delegation
on the Status of Women, Canada to China, and the National Council
of the Canadian Human Rights Foundation. She lectures throughout
the world.
Professor Shadrack B.O. Gutto, Centre
for Applied Legal Studies, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, South Africa, is a teacher and human rights activist.
A native of Kenya, he holds South African citizenship and has
studied and worked in many countries, including France, the US,
Austria, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Zimbabwe. He has designed
and presented numerous courses and conferences on various aspects
of the law including human rights and women and the law and development.
He holds a doctorate in the sociology of law from Lund University,
Sweden.
Kavita Ramdas, president, Global
Fund for Women, is a native of India. She was educated at the
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton
University. She worked for several years with the MacArthur Foundation
and then became president of the Global Fund for Women in 1996.
She is a voice for empowering women throughout the world. Through
the efforts of her organization, women in 160 countries have received
financial assistance to establish their economic independence.
Zainab Salbi, president, Women for
Women International, has established herself internationally as
a leader in efforts to support and empower women. Having grown
up in war-torn Baghdad, she took a keen interest in reports of
the horrors facing female refugees from Bosnia a decade ago. She
left her job with the Arab Ambassadors in Washington, D.C. to
establish Women for Women in Bosnia (now Women for Women International)
and has spent the last ten years helping women survive the aftermath
of armed conflict in several countries.
In addition to its international
prize program, the Peter Gruber Foundation has established a record
of charitable giving, principally in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
where it is located.
WOMEN'S
RIGHTS NEWS- 2006 RECIPIENTS: UNION NACIONAL DE MUJERES GUATEMALTECAS,
SWEATSHOP WATCH AND CECILIA MEDINA QUIROGA
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