Media contact:
Chelsea Hedquist
+1 603.229.2017
chelsea@lantosfoundation.org
January 24, 2022 – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice is thrilled to announce the three extraordinary Afghan women who will be jointly awarded the 2021 Lantos Human Rights Prize: Judge Fawzia Amini, Ms. Roya Mahboob, and Ms. Khalida Popal. Each of these women has worked fearlessly and tirelessly to promote and protect the rights of Afghan women, in their own unique way and from within their respective fields – including the legal profession, the tech business world, and the sports arena. The Lantos Foundation originally announced on December 10 that the 2021 Lantos Prize would honor the women of Afghanistan and today it is releasing the names of the Lantos Prize recipients.
“It was a challenging task to identify three women to recognize with our highest human rights honor, simply because there are so many impressive, courageous, and inspiring Afghan women who have made contributions to the field of human rights and women’s rights,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation. “While many Afghan women would be worthy recipients of the Lantos Prize, we felt that Judge Amini, Ms. Mahboob, and Ms. Popal particularly embody the idea of a human rights champion and represent the diversity of ways that Afghan women have had an impact on human rights. We are so delighted to have the chance to honor these three women for their specific achievements – but we also feel that they will accept the Prize as representatives of their fellow Afghan women, many of whom now face the terrifying reality of a return to life under the Taliban’s oppressive rule.”
The 2021 Lantos Prize will be conferred at a ceremony in Washington, DC, which will be held later this spring. The ceremony will not only recognize the contributions of Afghan women to the struggle for human rights but will also serve as a platform to urge the United States government and other democratic nations to help ensure the safety, wellbeing and fundamental rights of all women in Afghanistan – and to offer support and aid for women who wish to flee the country. The ceremony will also take the opportunity to honor the generous and courageous rescuers who have, on their own initiative, helped Afghan women who are in danger to leave the country in the past several months and resettle elsewhere. More details about the 2021 Lantos Prize ceremony will be made available in the coming weeks.
“It is a great honor to receive the Lantos Prize,” said Judge Amini from the United Kingdom, where she has recently resettled after fleeing Afghanistan last autumn. “It is my wish that this honor will bring attention to the threats facing the women of Afghanistan, and particularly my fellow women judges. I was fortunate to be able to leave the country, but many of them have been unable to leave and they remain in grave danger. It is my duty now to advocate for them. I will continue to share this message: The Taliban have institutionalized discrimination against women. They have denied our fundamental rights. We cannot forget the women of Afghanistan.”
“I accept this award with a sense of deep pride and gratitude that my efforts to extend the fundamental right of education to all the women and girls of Afghanistan are being recognized,” said Ms. Mahboob from New York, where she resides. “The Lantos Prize will honor not only my work, but that of my dedicated team members, as well as the resilience, talent, and courage of the women and girls we work with across Afghanistan. Education is the way we push back against extremism and bring real change to the people of Afghanistan, and I am committed to continuing this work, no matter the challenges we face.”
“I am grateful to receive the Lantos Prize in recognition of my work to empower women and girls through sport,” said Ms. Popal from Denmark, where she has lived since 2011. “I envision a day when women all around the world realize their own power and the strength that comes from standing together as sisters. I will continue working towards that day and towards a world in which no group, government, or patriarchal culture will be able dominate, oppress, and violate the human rights of one half of society.”
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Judge Fawzia Amini held numerous positions in the Afghan government for more than two decades, including as head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Women Affairs. She later became a senior judge in the Supreme Court of Afghanistan and head of the Violence against Women Court, where she settled hundreds of cases against perpetrators of violence. During her time in government, Judge Amini was a member of the drafting committee of the Elimination of Violence against Women Law, the Family Law, and regulations for protection centers for women at risk. She worked closely with the Ministry of Justice to review laws from a gender perspective and ensure the protection of women’s rights, and she conducted hundreds of capacity building trainings on legal issues linked to women’s rights. She also played a role in Afghanistan’s accession to key international conventions on women and children, such as the UN Convention Against Torture, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and others. When the Taliban regained control of the country in 2021, Judge Amini was forced into hiding after receiving numerous threats against her life. With assistance from the International Bar Association, she and nearly 100 women judges were able to escape from the country. Upon her arrival to the United Kingdom, Judge Amini immediately turned her attention and energy to advocating for the protection and rescue of the women judges who remain in Afghanistan.
Roya Mahboob is an entrepreneur and Afghanistan’s first female tech CEO, but her impact extends far beyond the sphere of business. Ms. Mahboob has used her success and tech expertise to help educate and empower Afghan women and girls, and she has been an outspoken advocate for their rights. She founded the Digital Citizen Fund, a nonprofit that aims to increase Afghan women’s technological and financial literacy and through which she also co-founded and supports the Afghan Girls Robotics Team. Ms. Mahboob has worked to build Internet-enabled classrooms across Afghanistan, has launched an online platform to strengthen the voices of Afghan women and journalists, and she regularly speaks and writes eloquently about the vital importance of education to building peaceful, just societies that respect human rights. Ms. Mahboob was named to TIME’s 2013 list of 100 Most Influential People. Following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, Ms. Mahboob played a crucial role in helping members of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team escape from the country.
Khalida Popal began breaking down barriers and empowering women in Afghanistan in 2007, when she helped found the Afghan National Women’s Soccer Team. She served as the team captain, and she later became the first woman ever hired by the Afghanistan Football Federation. When it became clear that she was no longer safe in the country, she went into exile and has continued her advocacy for the rights of women and girls by establishing the Denmark-based Girl Power Organisation. Girl Power encourages women’s empowerment through sport, particularly for refugee and migrant girls. Ms. Popal has become an outspoken and deeply respected advocate for women’s rights in Afghanistan and beyond. A former defender on the soccer field, she is now a defender and champion of human rights around the globe. Amid the recent fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, she worked tirelessly to help dozens of female soccer players from the senior and junior national teams escape and relocate. She has continued to support these girls and their families as they transition to their new countries of residence.
About the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice: The Lantos Foundation was established in 2008 to carry forward the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a leading human rights champion. The Foundation works with a range of partners and often in cooperation with the U.S. Government on issues that span the globe. The Foundation’s key areas of focus include human rights issues related to religious freedom, rule of law, internet freedom and activist art. The Foundation also administers the Lantos Congressional Fellows Program, supports human rights advocates, activists and artists through its Front Line Fund grant program, and awards the annual Lantos Human Rights Prize to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement. Past recipients of the Prize include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Elie Wiesel, the real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda Paul Rusesabagina, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Iraqi Parliamentarian Vian Dakhil, Hong Kong Democracy activist Joshua Wong, Bill Browder, the driving force behind the global Magnitsky movement, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson, among others.