Humaira Rasuli Receives the 2021 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award

The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) today (12/10) released a series of videos to congratulate the 2021 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award recipient Ms. Humaira Rasuli. The videos included pre-recorded speeches by President Tsai Ing-wen, Ms. Humaira Rasuli, and TFD Chairman You Si-kun.

Due to COVID-19, the TFD is not hosting a physical award ceremony this year. Please see the following links for the videos:

Humaira Rasuli is an Afghan human rights lawyer and the co-founder and executive director of the Women for Justice Organization (WJO). She started participating in social activism when she was 16 years old and a refugee in Pakistan. After returning to Afghanistan, she led lawyers, gender experts and activists in WJO to increase women’s access to justice, uphold the rule of law in Afghanistan, and investigate some of the most emblematic sex crime cases in the country. She also formerly led Medica Afghanistan which is another women’s rights organization that provides psychosocial counseling and legal support to female survivors of sexual violence.

To ensure the protection of female rights within the Afghanistan judicial system, Humaira Rasuli was instrumental in pushing for major law reform, including the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law and the criminal procedural reform. Afghan women have gradually been able to receive justice from judicial procedures due to the work of Humaira Rasuli and the organizations she leads, and she was named Best Female Leader by the Afghanistan Ministry of Women’s Affairs in 2010.

The TFD established the annual ADHRA to honor individuals or organizations that have demonstrated long-term commitment and outstanding leadership in advancing democracy or human rights through peaceful means in Asia. The Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award Guidelines were approved by the Board of the TFD and announced in April 2006. The Award consists of a sculpture and a US$100,000 grant to support the ongoing work of the recipient. The TFD also pledges to deepen its relationship with each of the recipients and their partners to sustain and increase the impact of their work.

For more details, please see the press release (English version).