Nirbhaya to be awarded prestigious 'International Women of Courage Award'

06 March, 2013

Nirbhaya, 23, Delhi's paramedic gang-rape braveheart, will be posthumously honoured by the US with the prestigious International Women of Courage Award (IWCA) on March 8, celebrated as International Women' Day.

The awards are annually given to those women who show exceptional courage and leadership for women’s rights, their empowerment and gender equity. Nirbhaya has been chosen for inspiring people of India to their fight against gender-based violence. She is one of the ten women chosen from all over world for IWCA this year.

According to the US State Department (USSD), the IWCA will be presented posthumously by US First Lady Michelle Obama and the Secretary of State John Kerry.“For millions of Indian women, her personal ordeal, perseverance to fight for justice, and her family’s continued bravery is helping to lift the stigma and vulnerability that drive violence against women,” stated the USSD.

“In the wake of her death just two weeks after the attack, India’s civil society began advocating heavily for legislation and social programmes to stem gender-based violence in all its forms and to ensure higher rape conviction rates and gender-sensitive law enforcement and justice systems. Thanks to these efforts, the Indian government has begun to take action to follow through on those demands,” the State Department said in a statement.