Pakistani women’s rights activist from Swat valley Tabassum Adnan has won prestigious 2016 Nelson Mandela Graça Machel Innovation Award.
She won the award for the individual activist category on the concluding day of the International Civil Society Week (ICSW) held from April 25-28, 2016 in Bogota, Colombia.
With this Tabassum Adnan becomes the second woman from Pakistan’s Swat valley to win this international recognition after Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.
About Tabassum Adnan
Tabassum Adnan was a victim of child marriage and was married at the age of 13.
The marriage was marked by frequent domestic abuse and ended after 20 years when she gathered the courage to divorce her abusive husband.
Later she launched NGO Khwendo Jirga (Sister’s Council), a women-only Jirga where women meet weekly to discuss issues such as honour killings, swara and acid attacks the practice of giving women as compensation for crimes.
In 2015, she was awarded 2015 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award in recognition of her untiring efforts and services for women’s rights.
About Nelson Mandela Graça Machel Innovation Award
Established in 2004 at the CIVICUS World Assembly in Gaborone, Botswana.
Propose: These Awards provide seed funding for innovative ideas emerging from organisations or groups of organisations participating in the CIVICUS World Assembly.
Each winner gets funding value of US 5,000 dollars each and also discuss their ideas with the World Assembly participants.
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