2020 Woman of Distinction Award

AFRICA

Passy Mubalama,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ms. Passy Mubalama is a Pro-democracy and women’s rights activist with experience in promoting women rights, democracy, human rights in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). She is Founder and Executive director of Action and Development Initiative for the Protection of Women and Children affected by conflict (AIDPROFEN), a nonprofit organization that promotes women’s rights, women political participation in the eastern region of DRC. Her personal experiences reporting human rights violations from Goma’s Internal Displaced Population camps inspired her in 2011 to found AIDPROFEN and support women and girls survivors of sexual violence victims of conflict in the eastern Congo. Passy has a degree in Management for Development in DRC, a Certificate in Human Rights and gender issues by Equitas in Canada. For her notable work to promote women rights in DRC, Ms, Mubalama received in 2014 a Mandela Washington Fellowship from the Young African Leaders Initiative, in 2018 Passy received the Reagan Fascell Democracy fellowship award in Washington DC researching on Promoting women and girls political participation overcoming cultural barriers. In 2019 Passy was selected as one of five changemakers by 11.11.11. Passy has created a women movement in the DRC where women and girls are advocating for their own basic rights, making their voices heard in a conflict zone in the DRC.

ASIA/PACIFIC

Dwi Ariyani,
Indonesia

Dwi Aryani serves as the Program Officer for the Disability Rights Fund and Disability Rights Advocacy Fund in Indonesia, where she has been working for over a decade to build an inclusive, gender-transformative movement. Her recent victories include supporting grantees led by women with  disabilities to push legislative reform and build  constructive dialogue with feminist organizations. Dwi also has personal experience fighting for justice –   she won a landmark discrimination case in 2017 against an airline that refused to carry her as a wheelchair user traveling alone. Nearly 50,000 petition signatures and a lengthy court case later, Dwi won the battle.

EUROPE/NORTH AMERICA

Anjum Sultana,
Canada

Anjum Sultana is the National Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications at YWCA   Canada,  the nation’s oldest gender equality organization. Anjum is the Founder of Millennial Womxn in Policy, a grassroots organization with over  2500 members, focused on the advancement of   women and gender diverse people in public policy.   Anjum represented Canada at 2019 Youth G7 Summit in France through Young Diplomats of Canada. Anjum serves as a board member for the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians, Toronto Environmental Alliance and Regent Park Community Health Centre. Anjum holds a Masters is Public Health from the University of Toronto.

LATIN AMERICA / CARIBBEAN

Tarcila Rivera Zea,
Perú

Tarcila Rivera Zea is one of the most recognized indigenous activists in Peru and the world. She has served as member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for the 2017-2019 period and has received several awards from Ford Foundation, Sacred Fire Foundation, among others. For more than 30 years   she has been defending indigenous rights through her organization CHIRAPAQ, and her involvement in other networks and institutions. She is the founder of CHIRAPAQ, Center for Indigenous Cultures of Peru,   an association that promotes the affirmation of cultural identity and the formation of indigenous women and young indigenous leaders. Mrs. Rivera Zea is also founder of the Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA) and the International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI), networks that foster leadership and political participation of indigenous women around the globe.

MIDDLE EAST / NORTH AFRICA

Dayna Ash,
Lebanon

Dayna Ash is a cultural and social activist, playwright, performance poet and the Founder & Executive Director of the non-profit organization, Haven for Artists -an all-inclusive women-led arts organization dedicated to fostering a community of artists and   activists in the MENA region by utilizing the arts to advocate for Gender equality and LGBTQIA+ rights- based in Beirut, Lebanon.

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