Amnesty International USA is celebrating the recipient of this year’s annual Ginetta Sagan Award. The award, which honors courageous women around the world who work to protect the rights of women and children, is being given this year to Pashtana Durrani from Afghanistan and the USA and Jazmín Romero from Epiayú, Colombia.
Pashtana Durrani is the founder of LEARN Afghan, the country’s first digital school network—now operating underground to provide safe learning environments for girls under Taliban rule. Pashtana is a Harvard University graduate with an M.Ed. in Education Policy Analysis and serves as an International Scholar-in-Residence at the Wellesley Centers for Women. She is also the author of Last to Eat, Last to Learn, a memoir chronicling her journey and the founding of LEARN Afghan. Her leadership and advocacy have been globally recognized—with honors such as Global Education Champion by the Malala Fund, BBC 100 Women, UN Young Activists Award, Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, and the Women’s Excellence Award from the World Economic Forum. Her lived experience and deep understanding of Afghanistan’s social and political context inform LEARN’s strategy and daily implementation.
Jazmín Romero Epiayú is the legal representative of the Wayuu Girls and Women’s Feminist Movement Foundation (MFNMW), where weaves together traditional wisdom and activism to confront the multiple threats facing her people. Her work has focused on defending the rights of Wayuu women and girls against all forms of gender-based violence; protecting and defending ancestral territory against coal mining; and resisting new forms of extractives disguised as energy transition. Her leadership combines ancestral Wayuu knowledge with contemporary strategies of territorial defense, courageously confronting threats and defamation, and reclaiming her role as guardian of the territory, women’s rights, and life.
“Amnesty International USA is incredibly proud to announce Pashtana Durrani and Jazmín Romero Epiayú as this year’s recipients of the Ginetta Sagan Award,” said Tarah Demant, National Director of Programs with Amnesty International USA. “With this award, we celebrate and honor the recipients, both of whom are powerful women working to defend the human rights of women.”
The Ginetta Sagan Award, named in honor of a WWII resistance fighter who went on to become a powerful advocate for Prisoners of Conscience, includes a grant of $20,000, recognizes outstanding achievement, often at great personal risk, and serves to increase international scrutiny on issues that threaten women’s rights, and human rights overall.
Contact: [email protected]