MINGORA: Tabassum Adnan, a women rights activist from Swat valley, has won the Nelson Mandela-Graca Machel Innovation Award 2016.

She received the award on Thursday — the concluding day of the International Civil Society Week (ICSW) held from April 25 to 28 in Bogota, Colombia.

This year the awards were given in the categories of youth activists, individual activists, civil society organisations and brave philanthropy.

Tabassum won the award in the individual activist category.

Talking to Dawn from Colombia soon after receiving the award, Tabassum said she dedicated her award to her beloved country, Pakistan. “I am grateful to everyone who supported me in my cause to fight for the rights of women in the country. Today, being a Pakistani woman here I feel proud to earn a good name for my country,” she said.

Tabassum has also received the 2015 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award in recognition of her untiring efforts and services for women’s rights.

She founded the first-ever women jirga – Khwendo Jirga (sisters’ council) – in 2013 and has since been actively working against women rights violations. She successfully stopped several cases of Swara (the practice of giving women as compensation for crimes) and violence against women.

Other winners of the Nelson Mandela Award are: Smriti Nagpal from India in youth category, Divest-Invest (represented by Ellen Dorsey) in brave philanthropy category and Sierra Leone Medical Students Association (represented by Dr Asad Naveed) in organisation category.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2016