A Fijian women's rights campaigner who was beaten by the military after the 2006 coup has won an International Women of Courage Award.
Virisila Buadromo, executive director of Oxfam New Zealand programme partners the Fiji Women's Rights Movement, was given the award yesterday in Washington by United StatesSecretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Ms Buadromo was honoured for her strong grassroots advocacy for women's development and human rights.
Following the coup, she was one of a group of six people hauled into military barracks on Christmas Eve and beaten and issued with a two-month travel ban.
She later lobbied for greater gender equality and legal and political reforms and expanded the Emerging Leaders' Forum work which trains young women to be able to inform and influence their peers on human rights, reproductive health and poverty, as well as how to deal with discrimination.
Oxfam NZ executive director Barry Coates said Ms Buadromo was an inspiring champion of human rights.
"Her experiences demonstrate the bravery and tenacity needed in the struggle for women's equality around the world," he said.
"The Fiji Women's Rights Movement has successfully used research, legal advice, advocacy training and literacy programmes to raise awareness of women's rights amongst both women and men in Fiji."
Seven other women from Afghanistan, Paraguay, Iraq, Kosovo, Pakistan, Somalia and Palestine also received the award.
