2015 LANTOS HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE RECIPIENTs

AYAAN HIRSI ALI, REBIYA KADEER, AND IRSHAD MANJI

 
 

The 2015 Lantos Human Rights Prize was awarded to a trio of courageous women and human rights advocates: Rebiya Kadeer, Irshad Manji, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Despite facing pressure from their respective governments to conform, they defied societal norms in order to expose human rights abuses.

Rebiya Kadeer, known as the “Mother of Uyghurs”, rose from childhood poverty in rural China to become a successful business leader. She was active in Chinese politics until her imprisonment by the Chinese government from 1999 to 2005. She was eventually released with the help of pressure from the U.S. and U.K. governments. Once free, she used her platform to denounce the Chinese government for its oppression of the Uyghurs and has worked tirelessly to promote job training for Uyghur women. She also served as the head of the World Uyghur Congress and the Uyghur American Association. She has continued her brave advocacy for the Uyghur people, despite the Chinese government’s ongoing persecution of her family.

Irshad Manji is an award-winning journalist, educator, human rights activist, author of three books about religious reform and multiculturalism, as well the creator of an Emmy-nominated PBS documentary. Manji is a strong advocate for increased individual freedoms within Muslim cultures and the founder of the Moral Culture Project, an organization that inspires individuals to use find ways to engage with many different viewpoints on social issues such as racism, inclusion, diversity and human rights. African by birth and Canadian by citizenship, Manji has faced numerous death threats and violent assaults from Muslim extremists based on her views related to the need for radical reform of Islam. She has courageously continued to speak out on these issues, despite the dangers and threats to her own personal safety. 

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, originally born in Somalia, was a victim of female gential mutilation as a child and fled to the Netherlands as a young adult to escape a forced marriage. She completed her education in the Netherlands and eventually was elected as a member of the Dutch Parliament. Following the attacks on September 11, she became an outspoken advocate for the reformation of Islam, which has often resulted in threats to her personal safety – including ending up on Al-Qaeda’s hit list. A passionate opponent of child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and honor violence, she established the AHA Foundation to combat violence against girls and women.
 

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