March 4, Pozirk. Volha Harbunova, the United Transitional Cabinet’s representative on social issues, has received the International Women of Courage Award from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and First Lady Jill Biden.
The White House and State Department websites livestreamed the ceremony from Washington, D.C.
Speaking to Pozirk before the ceremony, Harbunova said that she saw the award as recognition of “the contribution of courageous Belarusian women who have been working for justice and gender equality in Belarus for more than 20 years.”
“Courageous women in Belarus are activists, human rights defenders who do a tremendous amount of work, invisible to many, to protect women’s rights . . .
“These are all the women who came out in 2020 to defend their vote and civic position, who condemned violence. And now more than 187 women are behind bars, and over 1,000 have gone through prisons and unfair trials.”
After the ceremony, the laureates will take part “in an in-person International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and additional programming in Los Angeles, during which they will engage with American counterparts on strategies and ideas to empower women and girls around the globe.”
The State Department has been giving the IWOC Awards since 2007 to “women from around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, and the empowerment of women and girls, in all their diversity – often at great personal risk and sacrifice.”
