All Three Nominees for a Human Rights Reward Advocate for Women’s Rights

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize rewards outstanding civil society action in the defense of human rights, and all three nominees shortlisted for the 2020 Prize promote women’s rights or gender equality.

“The women and men who work every day to uphold our rights deserve our profoundest gratitude and admiration,” says PACE President Rik Daems. “Often at great personal cost, they hold governments to account and stand up for equal rights with courage and determination. They are on the front line of building a fairer and more just world, and we are all in their debt.”

Loujain Alhathloul, one of the leaders of the Saudi feminist movement, defended Saudi women’s right to drive and opposed the male guardianship system. The Nuns of Drukpa Order promote gender equality, environmental sustainability, and intercultural tolerance in their villages nestled in the Nepalese Himalayas. Julienne Lusenge, a Congolese human rights activist who has been busy documenting sexual abuse and acts of violence against women in her native Congo, has been instrumental in convicting hundreds of perpetrators of sexual violence against women. The winner of the 60,000-euro annual prize will be revealed on 19 April 2021.