Afghan Doctor Wins U.S. State Department’s Courage Award
The U.S. State Department has awarded the Courage Award to Zakira Hekmat, an Afghan doctor and founder of a refugee organization in Turkey.
At a ceremony hosted by the White House, attended by First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the 2023 International Women of Courage Awards were presented, where alongside Ms. Hekmat, 10 other women also received awards.
During the ceremony, it was announced that after women were banned from education during the first Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Zakira Hekmat secretly completed her schooling and received a scholarship to study in Turkey, eventually becoming a doctor. After witnessing the challenges faced by refugees, she founded the Afghan Refugee Solidarity Association to advocate for the rights of all refugees and women in Turkey.