The Eleanor Roosevelt Global Women’s Rights award was presented to Yanar Mohammed, the president of OWFI in recognition of her endeavors in voicing Iraqi women and protecting their rights in the post-war Iraq.

The award celebration was attended by an audience of 300 including key figures from Los Angeles on May 14 th. Four women were honored by this award for their achievement for women and human rights: Dr. Sima Samar, chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and highest-ranking female in the Afghan government , Dr. Rebbecca Gomberts, founder of Women on Waves, a mobile clinic offering safe abortions and inspiring legalization campaigns internationally; and Laurie David, environmental leader and producer of the Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, in addition to Yanar Mohammed, the president of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq.

By Houzan Mahmoud, from the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq

What the brutal 'honour killing' of a girl in Iraq's Kurdistan province shows about the country's headlong descent into sectarian violence

Houzan Mahmoud, an Iraqi Kurd who lives in Britain, is the overseas representative of the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq and initiator of the Campaign against Killing and Stoning of Women in Kurdistan