University of East London Homepage

Human rights defender Malalai Joya awarded 2008 Anna Politkovska Award at UEL

Friday 10 October 2008

Malalai Joya, a courageous defender of human rights in Afghanistan, was announced as the winner of the 2008 Anna Politkovska Award from the global RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in War) organisation. The award was made on Wednesday 8th October at a special seminar and ceremony attended by human rights workers and academics at the University of East London (UEL) Docklands campus.

Natalia Estemirova, the Chechnyan human rights defender and freelance journalist who was awarded the RAW in WAR prize in 2007, and Gurchan Virdee, a women's right activist and founder of Southall Black Sisters, were also among the speakers.

Ms Joya was the youngest elected member of Afghanistan’s national parliament in 2005 and past elected delegate for Afghanistan’s historic constitutional assembly, the Loya Jirga. In 2003 Malalai Joya demanded that warlords should be brought to justice for crimes against civilians targeting women in Afghanistan.

She was suspended from the Afghan Parliament in 2007 for saying 'A stable or a zoo is better...at least you have a donkey that carries a load and a cow that provides the milk. This parliament is worse than a stable or a zoo'. Today she is a public face in politics, a prominent advocate of women's rights and a human rights activist.

Dr Judith Burnett, Associate Dean of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies at UEL, said "We are honoured and humbled to meet these brave women who took their lives in their hands the day they decided to stand up for justice. Malalai Joya has shown immense courage and integrity under awful circumstances".

The award marks the anniversary of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the campaigning Russian journalist and outspoken government critic, who exposed the brutal treatment of civilians in Chechnya at the hands of both the Russian forces and the Moscow-supported Chechen officials. To honour Anna and other women like her, RAW in WAR annually presents the Anna Politkovskaya award. For further information about RAW in War please visit www.rawinwar.org

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

Information for screenreader users:

For a general description of these pages and an explanation of how they should work with screenreading equipment please follow this link: Link to general description

For further information on this web site’s accessibility features please follow this link: Link to accessibility information