Three human and women’s rights activists from Ukraine, Iran and Turkey will be awarded the Swedish Olof Palme Prize this year. Marta Tschumalo, Narges Mohammadi and Eren Keskin were honored for their struggle for women’s freedom at a time “when human rights are threatened by war, violence and oppression,” the Olof Palme Memorial Fund said in Stockholm on Monday.
As a co-founder of the non-governmental organization Women’s Perspectives, Chumalo has been working in Ukraine since “2014 and especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to raise awareness of the effects of the war,” especially on women, the statement said .
The Iranian journalist and activist Mohammadi played a central role in the fight for women’s rights and freedom of expression in her country. She has been repeatedly imprisoned for this since 1998. She has been in prison again since November 2021 for “anti-state propaganda”.
Turkish human rights lawyer Keskin receives the award for her decades-long commitment to victims of discrimination, including refugees and members of ethnic minorities. According to the jury, she received death threats and was repeatedly prosecuted and imprisoned for her beliefs.
The award ceremony is said to be on February 1st in the Swedish capital Stockholm. The $100,000 (€93,000) prize was created in 1987 to commemorate Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, who had been shot dead on the street in Stockholm a year earlier. Past laureates include Nobel Peace Prize winners Denis Mukwege, Aung San Suu Kyi and Kofi Annan. (AFP)
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