10 July 2002 

Four Women Activists from Muslim Countries Receive Democracy Awards 
(Laura Bush presents awards from Nat'l Endowment for Democracy) 

By Charles Hays Burchfield Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- U.S. First Lady Laura Bush presented the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) 2002 Democracy Awards July 9 to four women activists from predominantly Muslim countries.

In a Capitol Hill ceremony attended by some 400 people, Mrs. Bush gave awards to Nadjet Bouda of Algeria, Mariam Hussein Mohamed of Somalia, Muborak Tashpulatova of Uzbekistan, and Mehrangiz Kar of Iran.

"These women are forces for freedom and human rights in the Muslim world," the first lady said. "President Bush joins me in saluting them."

The awards, which are small-scale replicas of the Goddess of Democracy destroyed in China's Tiananmen Square in 1989, are given annually by the NED's board of directors to recognize "the courageous and creative works of individuals and organizations that have advanced the cause of human rights and democracy around the world," according to the NED Web site.

In welcoming the guests, NED Chairman Vin Weber said that women today are on the cutting edge of democratic reform in countries with substantial Muslim populations.

"At a time when many of those countries are being challenged from within by those who preach intolerance and hatred, it is essential that encouragement be given to those whose work embodies universal democratic values," Weber said. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to pay tribute to women whose day-to-day activities reflect the growing determination within their societies to strive for free institutions, responsible elected governments, and a respect for human dignity."

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky congratulated the four award recipients for their "tremendous contributions in the area of democracy promotion."

"Since the world-altering events of September 11, the need to bring lasting freedom and peace to that [Islamic] region has never been more painfully clear," Dobriansky said. "Their [the four women's] leadership exemplifies the strides being made by women throughout the Islamic world, strides that are perhaps nowhere more evident than in Afghanistan. In that country, for the first time in a generation, women are slowly resuming their place in society and are gradually being reintegrated into the public life of the nation."

In a short speech following Weber's and Dobriansky's remarks, Mrs. Bush quoted former President Reagan as saying, about 20 years ago: "Let us now begin a major effort to secure the best -- a crusade for freedom that will engage the faith and fortitude of the next generation. For the sake of peace and justice, let us move toward a world in which all people are at last free to determine their own destiny."

Bush said she thought President Reagan would be "like all of us are here -- inspired by the work of this year's award winners." She said the four award recipients have monitored the condition of human rights and freedoms around the world; spoken out against tyranny and injustice; educated children -- and the teachers who teach them -- about the values of freedom, civic responsibility, peace, and democracy; and fought for free press, free speech, public safety, public debate, and human rights.

Bush said the honorees have contributed to the growth of democratic values in the Muslim world.

"We look to their countries -- Iran, Uzbekistan, Somalia, and Algeria -- and we call on them to keep the promise of freedom that people yearn for so desperately," she said. "All people must be free to determine their own destinies, develop their own culture, and choose their own path."

Ensuring freedom, Bush said, takes people working together and believing in the same basic elements of civilized society in every culture and country: respect for democracy, human rights, free media, and the rule of law.

"Together, the United States and the allies of democracy, like these women, are proving that the forces of terror can't stop the momentum of freedom," Bush said.

Senators Bill Frist (Republican of Tennessee) and Joseph Biden (Democrat of Delaware) introduced the four award recipients. Frist is a member of the board of the National Endowment for Democracy and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Biden is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The first democracy award recipient, Nadjet Bouda (Algeria), works with SOS Disparus, an organization that advocates on behalf of the hundreds of Algerians who have disappeared as a result of Algeria's ongoing civil war. She is the former president and spokeswoman for the Rally for Youth Action, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that develops and implements civic education and human rights awareness programs with and for Algerian youth.

Bouda thanked her mother for supporting and believing in her, then told the audience that the fight for human rights must continue. From her experience in Algeria, she said fighting terrorism by arms alone will not bring peace. She called on the United States to help Algeria fight the roots of terrorism, and she called on the American people to open their hearts to the 13 million Algerians who dream of one day having the rights of citizens living in a land of peace.

Mariam Hussein Mohamed (Somalia), the second award recipient, is founder and co-chairperson of Somalia's leading human rights group, the Dr. Ismail Jumale Human Rights Organization (DIJHRO). She is also the co-founder of the Peace and Human Rights Network (PHRN), an umbrella group of 24 prominent Somali civil society organizations across the country. She said she considered the award a tribute to all human rights activists in Africa.

Third was Muborak Tashpulatova (Uzbekistan), who is director of the Tashkent Public Education Center (TPEC), which has produced textbooks on civic education and handbooks for teaching human rights, and has conducted "town hall" style civic forums for parents, youth, and government. Tashpulatova said, "The people in Uzbekistan also want freedom, democracy, and independence as much as American people do."

Mehrangiz Kar (Iran), the fourth recipient, is an Iranian attorney, writer, and activist who has promoted democracy, rule of law, and human rights within the framework of Islamic law in Iran since the revolution of 1979. She has been arrested and imprisoned for acting against national security interests, and her husband is still imprisoned in Tehran. She thanked the American people for their support of the Iranian people's struggle for democracy.

Carl Gershman, president of NED, closed the awards ceremony by saying, "Our job is to provide as much help to all of these good people as we are capable of giving and to provide it in a spirit of humility and solidarity, recognizing that ultimately they will be the agents of their own liberation -- but we can help, and we should help, and we will help."

The National Endowment for Democracy is a private, non-profit, grant-making organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. It is active in more than 90 countries, supporting grassroots democratic initiatives.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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