Female students of July Uprising receive prestigious US award
The prestigious Madeleine Albright Honorary Group Award has been given to female students who participated in the July Uprising. The award is given by the United States in addition to the International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award.
The award was announced on the US State Department website on Friday. The award will be presented to the winners at a ceremony hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US First Lady Melania Trump at the State Department on April 1.
Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government, congratulated the female students of the July Uprising on receiving the award. The US State Department website says that a group of courageous women played a key role in the student movement against repression in Bangladesh in July-August last year. They participated in the protests with extraordinary courage; they continued the protests by standing between law enforcement forces and male protesters despite the risk of being subjected to threats and violence. When their fellow male protesters were arrested, these women have been innovative in their communication and leadership. They have continued to protest despite various obstacles and even when the internet has been completely shut down. Their bravery and selflessness in the face of uncertainty is another definition of courage. The website mentions that the ‘Women Student Protest Leaders of Bangladesh’ have been nominated for the Madeleine Albright Honorary Group Award.
Umama Fatima, spokesperson for the Student Movement Against Discrimination, posted about the award on her verified Facebook account on Saturday. She wrote, ‘The collective recognition of women protesters is very honorable for us. However, the award has been used to directly endorse Israel’s hellish attack on Palestine since October 2023. The way the award justifies the Israeli attack by denying the Palestinian War of Independence calls into question the impartiality of the award. Where the Palestinian people are being deprived of their basic human rights (land rights). Therefore, I personally declined this award out of respect for the Palestinian struggle for independence.’ The US State Department has been giving the Madeleine Albright Honorary Group Award along with the IWOC Award since 2023. This award was introduced in the name of former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Women are nominated for this award as a group for special courage. The first time this award was received was by the brave women of Iran, who shook the world with their massive protests over the death of Masa Amini. The US State Department has been giving the IWOC Award since 2007. The ministry says that the award is given to those who have shown exceptional courage and leadership by taking personal risks and making sacrifices in the cause of peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and equity. This time, the IWOC awardees are Henriette Da of Burkina Faso, Amit Susana of Israel, Major Velena Iga of Papua New Guinea, Angelique Sanko of the Philippines, Giorgiana Passu of Romania, Zabib Musa Loro Bakhit of South Sudan, Samini Wijedasha of Sri Lanka and Amat Al Salam Al Haji of Yemen.
It is worth noting that earlier, the influential British magazine The Economist selected Bangladesh as the country of the year 2024. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power on August 5 last year in the face of a student-led uprising. The fall of the authoritarian government and the start of a new journey have brought Bangladesh to the top of the list.
