She has received death threats and been designated as an enemy of the people. On Sunday Yanar Mohammed received the Rafto Prize for her courageous work for women in his home country Iraq.
Yanar Mohammed is head of the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) and has fought a battle for minority groups in the war-torn homeland.
– We admire your courage. The courage that made it possible for you to leave a safe and comfortable life in Canada, and to return to war-torn Iraq to work for women and women’s rights, said Martin Paulsen, head of the award committee of the Rafto Foundation, in his speech to the prize winner.
Killings of women
Yanar Mohammed returned to her homeland in 2003. Her organization OWFI has established shelters in several places in Iraq, despite the fact that it is forbidden for non-governmental organizations to do so.
In her acceptance speech drew Laureate until several episodes that showed how she had been harassed and threatened – even by program managers directly on Iraqi television.
Both Mohammed and several of her fellow activists are living in hiding.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
