At the 10th annual Women Of Courage Awards, the US State Department recognized fourteen women from around the world who have “demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment.” Among the women receiving the 2016 awards were Sara Hossain, a lawyer from Bangladesh and Nagham Nawzat, a Yezidi Activist and Gynecologist from Iraq. Ms. Hossain wrote and advocated for comprehensive legislation on violence against women, which became law in Bangladesh in 2010. Ms. Nawzat has dedicated her career to fighting gender-based violence in Iraq. Most recently, Ms. Nawzat has worked to rescue Yezidi women and girls captured by Islamic State militants and provide psychological and medical health services to the victims.
Compiled from: Burke, Lauren Victoria, State Department Honors International Women of Courage, NBC News (March 30, 2016); Secretary Kerry Honors 14 Women Of Courage, US Deptartment of State (March 28, 2016).