The honorees this year came from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burma, Central African Republic, Guinea, Japan, Kosovo, Pakistan and Syria. They were nominated by US embassies in those countries and then selected by the State Department.
“These women are journalists exposing corruption and extremism; they are activists fighting armed conflict and discrimination; and one of them is a nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for her patients. But as soon as she recovered, she went right back to work, and she now serves as a spokeswoman, raising awareness and fighting the stigma around Ebola,” Obama said.
Two journalists from Bangladesh and Kosovo were honored. Arbana Xharra of Kosovo is the editor-in-chief of daily newspaper Zeri. She received death threats for her reportage on religious extremists and their ties to imams and non-governmental organizations.
Nadia Shareen of Bangladesh was seriously injured when she was attacked by a crowd of men at a rally calling for Bangladesh’s to roll back women’s development policy. She resigned after her employer refused to pay her medical bills.
Majd Chourbaji of Syria was honored for her work with Women Now for Development Centers in Lebanon. She was arrested for protesting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad along with her husband who was tortured in jail and died.
Obama went on to talk about the challenges they faced in their respective countries.
“For them, staying silent simply isn’t an option. For them, turning away from the injustices they see simply isn’t possible,” she said. “You see, these women refuse to believe the false comfort that other people’s suffering isn’t their problem, and they refuse to listen to those who tell them that one person can’t possibly make a difference.
President Barack Obama commemorated International Women's Day on Sunday by calling for the elimination of discrimination against women around the world.
"As half the planet, women make immeasurable contributions to our world. They are entrepreneurs, farmers, educators, scientists, artists, soldiers, mothers, heads of state – the list is endless. Without them economies would collapse, political systems would deteriorate, and families and communities would fall apart," Obama said in a statement.
Obama stated that one of the major injustices of our time is the gap between the women's contribution and how they are treated in everyday life.
"On this International Women's Day, we recommit ourselves to closing that gap," US president said.
According to the president, bridging this gap implies support for girls' education. A total of 62 million girls of school age are not in school and millions more are at risk of losing access to education, Obama said.
