[ti:First Lady Jill Biden Honors Women Around the World]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]First lady Jill Biden, the wife of President Joe Biden,
[00:05.48]helped the U.S. State Department honor 21 women
[00:11.44]for their "courage" and "intentional decisions" in 2020.
[00:18.88]The women were recognized with the 2021
[00:23.32]International Women of Courage Award.
[00:27.24]The honors were presented virtually
[00:30.44]because of the coronavirus health crisis.
[00:34.92]Seven of those honored, all from Afghanistan, had died recently.
[00:41.92]Among them were a reporter,
[00:44.64]a woman who helped mothers in childbirth,
[00:48.72]a democracy activist, a police officer
[00:53.88]and a general who worked to fight kidnapping.
[00:59.36]Many of them were killed by people who targeted them for their work.
[01:06.00]Fourteen other women from around the world
[01:09.16]were honored for their work in many fields.
[01:13.16]One, Maria Kalesnikava, is in prison in Belarus
[01:18.56]for her support of democracy and her opposition
[01:22.80]to President Alexander Lukashenko.
[01:26.92]Another, Phyoe Phyoe Aung, works to make connections
[01:32.84]between young people of different ethnic and religious groups in Myanmar.
[01:40.52]She was in prison for over a year
[01:43.84]after she was arrested at a protest march in 2015.
[01:50.20]Julienne Lusenge of the Democratic Republic of Congo
[01:55.72]is an activist for women and girls. She works to stop gender-based violence.
[02:04.40]She has helped shape policy in her home country and around the world.
[02:10.56]She helped with the United Nations' decision
[02:14.60]to recognize sexual violence as a weapon of war.
[02:21.12]During the presentation, Biden said the women "are
[02:25.16]fighting for their own lives and for their children.
[02:29.80]They want to right the wrongs of our past..."
[02:34.60]She said each of the women made an important decision
[02:40.20]to choose to be courageous and fight for ideas they believed in
[02:46.92]"despite the obstacles and fear they faced."
[02:52.40]Biden said that the U.S. is making a choice
[02:56.52]to support women around the world.
[02:59.28]She said the U.S. will
[03:02.20]"lift up the women and girls everywhere who light our way."
[03:08.04]Some of the other women, who Biden said
[03:11.28]fought "for something bigger than themselves," were: Erika Lorena Aifan,
[03:18.92]a judge in Guatemala who deals with threats of violence
[03:24.36]while working on corruption and war crimes cases.
[03:28.84]Shohreh Bayat was a chess judge from Iran.
[03:34.48]She was photographed without her head covering
[03:37.84]while working at the Women's Chess World Championship last year.
[03:43.20]The Iranian Chess Federation said
[03:45.88]she might not be able to safely return to her country without apologizing.
[03:52.92]She refused and is now living as a refugee in Britain without her husband,
[03:59.68]who has not been able to get permission to be with her.
[04:04.48]Muskan Khatun worked to make new laws
[04:09.56]against acid attacks on women in her home country of Nepal.
[04:15.60]She was a victim of an attack as a teenager
[04:19.16]after rejecting the romantic proposals of a boy.
[04:24.16]After meeting with Nepal's Prime Minister
[04:27.16]and requesting a strong law against these attacks,
[04:31.80]the country made rules limiting the sale of acid.
[04:35.72]Stronger punishments for acid attacks were also put in place.
[04:42.56]Biden said the U.S. will work harder to stay connected
[04:46.88]with powerful and courageous women around the world.
[04:52.16]"We will stand with you as we build a brighter future for us all," she said.
[04:59.92]I'm Dan Friedell. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM