Yezidi activist Dr. Nagham Nawzat to be honored by US Secretary of State Kerry for being a women of outstanding courage

Yezidi activist Dr. Nagham Nawzat will be one of the 14 women globally who will be honored by US Secretary of State , John Kerry with 2016 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award . Dr.  Nawzat who is also a gynecologist in a statement to New York Times had warned of the ISIS strategy of using birth control as a means to maintain their supply of sex slaves and the horrendous crimes being committed by ISIS on Yezidi girls.

Dr. Nagham Nawzat Hasan has dedicated her career to promoting equality for women, combatting gender-based violence, and providing psychological support to survivors. Since the 2014 takeover of the city of Sinjar by Da’esh, resulting in the massacre of thousands of Yezidi men and the enslavement of Yezidi women, Dr. Hasan has focused her efforts on rescuing and assisting Yezidi girls traumatized by Da’esh. Responding to the humanitarian crisis, Dr. Hasan was one of the first physicians to provide psychological counseling and health screenings to freed and escaped girls. Today, she regularly visits Internally Displaced Persons camps with large Yezidi populations to conduct outreach and encourage parents to allow their daughters to visit her clinic for basic health care and psychosocial support.

Other women globally who also will be honored are:

1. Sara Hossain, Barrister, Supreme Court, Bangladesh
2. Debra Baptist-Estrada, Port Commander, Belize Immigration and Nationality, Belize
3. Ni Yulan, Human Rights Activist, China
4. Latifa Ibn Ziaten, Interfaith Activist, France
5. Thelma Aldana, Attorney General, Guatemala
6. Nisha Ayub, Transgender Rights Advocate, Malaysia
7. Fatimata M’baye, Co-founder and President of the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights, Mauritania
8. Zhanna Nemtsova, Journalist and Activist, Russia
9. Zuzana Števulová, Director of the Human Rights League, Slovakia
10. Awadeya Mahmoud, Founder and Chair of the Women’s Food and Tea Sellers’ Cooperative and the Women’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative for Khartoum State, Sudan
11. Vicky Ntetema, Executive Director of Under the Same Sun, Tanzania
12. Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit, Bookstore Owner and Co-founder of Creating Awareness for Enhanced Democracy, Thailand
13. Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi, Minister of Legal Affairs, Yemen