Istanbul, 17 September 2015 – The International Hrant Dink Award was given this year to Saudi Arabian human rights defender Samar Badawi for her endless human rights work.
The award, established by the Hrant Dink Foundation in Turkey, was presented on 15 September 2015, on Hrant Dink’s birthday. This award is given to individuals who risk their lives for ideals and principles, using a language of peace aiming for a world free of violence, discrimination and racism. It is named after the prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist who was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007. Watch a video about Badawi made by the Foundation at https://youtu.be/y-oJok2V0UQ
Since Badawi could not travel to Istanbul for the award ceremony, due to a travel ban, Elsa Saade of the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) received the award on her behalf. In her speech, Saade said, “In a region such as ours, it is common to witness how the rule of law is used against men and women working for the protection and promotion of human rights. That is why we need people like Samar Badawi. For when power is dictated by the abuse of sectarianism, religion, economic interests, we need people like her to voice out human concerns.”
Saade shared some of Badawi’s own words with the audience: “In Saudi Arabia those who chose to rule in the name of Islam and Shari’a law have treated such jurisprudence as mere ink on paper. Those who claim to use religion to protect me are the very people who took away my safety and security, for within the kingdom those meant to be serving justice have decided that oppression should be a cause for celebration.”
Saade noted, “The right to vote, the right to drive, the right to choose the man you love. Samar Badawi has willingly put her life in danger for the sake of the most basic human rights we take for granted. She has challenged a kingdom that big governments around the world are not daring to challenge. She has chosen a path that few choose and has deliberately fought and acted upon her dreams no matter the consequences. Though Samar has been jailed and constantly faces ongoing harassment and threats of punishment from both the government and religious authorities, she continues being an inspiration to thousands of Saudi women. Along with fellow defenders, she challenged gender inequality. She sued her father for having abused her, filed lawsuits against the government demanding the right for women to vote and the right for women to drive vehicles in a country where simply driving a car would lead you to trial in a terrorism court.”
“What motivates me more to survive is my responsibility, not only for raising my children, but also the responsibility of changing the dark reality in which we live now in order to build a future of justice, freedom and equality for all Saudi citizens,” Badawi has said. “Remember that history does not forget, it will exalt those who have fought for freedom and cast aside the memory of those who succumbed to a life of humiliation and servitude.”
GCHR congratulates Badawi for this significant recognition of her peaceful and legitimate human rights work. “What HRDs like Samar Badawi do, is not because of the absence of fear,” says Maryam Al-Khawaja, Co-Director of the GCHR. “Fear is very much related to consequences, and in Saudi Arabia the consequences are real and ongoing. It is rather when people find a cause worth fighting for that is more important than the fear regardless of the consequences. This is the true face of courage which Samar portrays.”
For more information, see: http://www.hrantdink.org/?Detail=15&Lang=en
