DU Correspondent :
Bangladeshi girl Sharmin Akter has been selected for the International Woman of Courage (IOWC) Award for her courageous steps to resist her family’s efforts to wed her at the age of 15.
Sharmin will be handed the award by the United States (US) First Lady Melania Trump. When Sharmin was 15 only, her mother attempted to stop her education and marry her to a man who was at least 12 years older than her. But she refused and eventually succeeded in bringing her mother and the bridegroom to justice.
According to the US State Department, Sharmin “demonstrated exceptional courage and self-possession” and “dared break the silence and realised her rights”.
The International Woman of Courage Award, first presented in 2007, recognizes the exceptional courage and leadership of woman around the world who advocates for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, often at great risk.
A total of 13 women will receive the 2017 International Woman of Courage Award. Among the list are environmental activists, women and children’s rights advocates, peace activists and anti-domestic violence campaigners from across the globe.
Sharmin, now 17, is under the care of her grandmother and attends Rajapur Pilot Girls High School. One day she hopes to become a lawyer and fight practices of early and forced marriage. anti-domestic violence campaigners from across the globe.
Sharmin, now 17, is under the care of her grandmother and attends Rajapur Pilot Girls High School. One day she hopes to become a lawyer and fight practices of early and forced marriage.
