International Women of Courage Award Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids International Women of Courage Award

Presented by	United States Department of State
Location	Washington, D.C.
Country	United States
First awarded	Annually starting in 2007; 18 years ago (2007)

The International Women of Courage Award is a special honor given every year by the United States Department of State. This American award celebrates women from all over the world. These women have shown great leadership, bravery, and strength. They often risk their own safety to help others, especially to support the rights of women.

What is the International Women of Courage Award?
Award Winners Through the Years
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What is the International Women of Courage Award?

The award was created in 2007 by Condoleezza Rice, who was the U.S. Secretary of State at the time. The Secretary of State is the top government official in charge of relationships with other countries.

The award ceremony happens each year around March 8, which is International Women's Day. This day celebrates the achievements of women everywhere.

To be chosen for the award, a woman must first be recommended by a U.S. embassy. An embassy is an office that represents the U.S. government in another country. Since 2007, more than 180 women from over 80 countries have received this honor.

Award Winners Through the Years

Each year, a group of amazing women is selected. Here are some of the winners from recent years.

2019 Award Winners

The 2019 International Women of Courage Award winners.

The winners in 2019 included women from many different countries who fought for justice and human rights.

Marini De Livera of Sri Lanka
Razia Sultana of Bangladesh
Naw K’nyaw Paw of Myanmar
Moumina Houssein Darar of Djibouti
Maggie Gobran of Egypt
Khalida Khalaf Hanna al-Twal of Jordan
Orla Treacy of Ireland
Olivera Lakić of Montenegro
Flor de María Vega Zapata of Peru
Anna Aloys Henga of Tanzania

2020 Award Winners

The 2020 award winners with U.S. officials.

In 2020, the award honored women who worked for peace, justice, and government accountability.

Zarifa Ghafari of Afghanistan
Lucy Kocharyan of Armenia
Shahla Humbatova of Azerbaijan
Ximena Galarza of Bolivia
Claire Ouedraogo of Burkina Faso
Sayragul Sauytbay of China
Susanna Liew of Malaysia
Amaya Coppens of Nicaragua
Jalila Haider of Pakistan
Amina Khoulani of Syria
Yasmin al Qadhi of Yemen
Rita Nyampinga of Zimbabwe

2021 Award Winners

The 2021 ceremony honored fourteen women for their incredible bravery.

Maria Kalesnikava of Belarus
Phyoe Phyoe Aung of Burma
Maximilienne C. Ngo Mbe of Cameroon
Wang Yu of China
Mayerlis Angarita of Colombia
Julienne Lusenge of the DRC
Erika Aifan of Guatemala
Shohreh Bayat of Iran
Muskan Khatun of Nepal
Zahra Mohamed Ahmad of Somalia
Alicia Vacas Moro of Spain
Ranitha Gnanarajah of Sri Lanka
Canan Gullu of Turkey
Ana Rosario Contreras of Venezuela

2022 Award Winners

The 2022 awards were held online and hosted by First Lady Jill Biden.

The 2022 awards recognized twelve women who made a difference in their communities.

Rizwana Hasan of Bangladesh
Simone Sibilio do Nascimento of Brazil
Ei Thinzar Maung of Burma
Josefina Klinger Zúñiga of Colombia
Taif Sami Mohammed of Iraq
Facia Boyenoh Harris of Liberia
Najla Mangoush of Libya
Doina Gherman of Moldova
Bhumika Shrestha of Nepal
Carmen Gheorghe of Romania
Roegchanda Pascoe of South Africa
Phạm Đoan Trang of Vietnam

2023 Award Winners

The 17th annual International Women of Courage Award Ceremony in March 2023.

The 2023 awards honored eleven individuals and one group.

Zakira Hekmat of Afghanistan
Alba Rueda of Argentina
Danièle Darlan of the Central African Republic
Doris Ríos of Costa Rica
Meaza Mohammed of Ethiopia
Hadeel Abdel Aziz of Jordan
Bakhytzhan Toregozhina of Kazakhstan
Ras Adiba Radzi of Malaysia
Bolor Ganbold of Mongolia
Bianka Zalewska of Poland
Yuliia Paievska of Ukraine

An additional group award was given to the "women and girl protestors of Iran." This was in response to the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini.

2024 Award Winners

The 2024 award winners with U.S. officials.

The 2024 awards were given to twelve brave women from around the globe.

Benafsha Yaqoobi of Afghanistan
Fawzia Karim Firoze of Bangladesh
Volha Harbunova of Belarus
Ajna Jusić of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Myintzu Win of Burma
Marta Beatriz Roque of Cuba
Fátima Corozo of Ecuador
Fatou Baldeh of The Gambia
Fariba Balouch of Iran
Rina Gonoi of Japan
Rabha El Haymar of Morocco
Agather Atuhaire of Uganda

2025 Award Winners

In 2025, the award honored eight women and one group for their outstanding work.

Henriette Da of Burkina Faso
Amit Soussana of Israel
Major Velena Iga of Papua New Guinea
Angelique Songco of the Philippines
Georgiana Pascu of Romania
Zabib Musa Loro Bakhit of South Sudan
Namini Wijedasa of Sri Lanka
Amat Al-Salam Al-Hajj of Yemen

A special group award was also given to the "Women Student Protest Leaders of Bangladesh." This was for their role in the July Revolution in Bangladesh.