Indian gang-rape victim shares US courage awards

WASHINGTON: The Indian gang-rape victim whose brutal death shocked the nation and the world was among nine women honored by the United States for their courage.
The young student, who has become known simply as “Nirbhaya” or “fearless,” was awarded the US International Women of Courage award posthumously after she died of massive internal injuries following the rape and attack on a Delhi bus.
“Her bravery inspired millions of men and women to come together with a simple message ‘No more,’” US Secretary of State John Kerry told a ceremony at which the 23-year-old was honored.
“We never imagined that the girl we thought was our daughter would one day be the daughter of the entire world,” her parents wrote in a message to the ceremony that was read out by Kerry.
“While her end was horrendous, her case is imparting strength to all women to fight and to improve the system. Women in India and the rest of the world refuse to be stigmatized and will not keep silent any more.”
Three other women were also absent from the event held at the State Department.
Tibetan poet Tsering Woeser was denied a passport by Chinese authorities to travel, Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan is under house arrest and Syrian human rights lawyer Razan Zeitunah is in hiding for her safety.
“I see how much work we still have to do,” Kerry said at the annual event held to mark International Women’s Day.
First Lady Michelle Obama said that “when these women witnessed horrific crimes or the disregard for basic human rights, they spoke up, risking everything they had to see that justice was done.
“With every act of strength and defiance, with every blog post, with every community meeting, these women have inspired millions to stand with them and find their own voices, and work together to achieve real and lasting change.”
But the event was marred by news that the award to Egyptian activist Samira Ibrahim was canceled at the last-minute after it was discovered she had made statements praising the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the killing of Israelis.
“It’s unfortunate, but it was the right thing to do,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, adding that Ibrahim’s statements on her Twitter account “didn’t comport with out values.” “There were obviously some problems in our review process,” Nuland admitted.