Women Accelerating Peace, Betting Their Communities

Bloomberg Government, in partnership with Vital Voices, hosted a luncheon discussion and media roundtable last week in Washington, DC featuring nine global women leaders who are this years Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards honorees.
 

Tuscan restaurant’s chef/owner chef/owner Christianne Ricchi flanked by the recipient of the Human Rights awardee Rosana Schaack, and the Global Trailblazer awardee Shatha Al-Harazi.

Human Rights First prez/CEO Elisa Massimino, Vital Voices chair of the board Susan Ann Davis, Bloombeg News senior correspondent Indira Lakshmanan, and Vital Voices VP Bobbie Greene McCarthy.

These nine honorees represent an extraordinary cadre of women leaders who are working to strengthen democracy, increase economic opportunity and protect human rights.

Bloomberg foreign policy reporter, Indira Lakshmanan, hosted the discussion:

The Vital Voices luncheon was an  intimate opportunity to hear directly from extraordinary women around the world who use their leadership to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities. These women are on the front-lines of global issues that most Americans only read in the news and never experience firsthand.

Just two examples: Samar Minallah Khan, a Pakistani filmmaker, used her camera to draw attention to the tribal practice of forcing young girls into marriages or slavery as payment for crimes by male family members; her film created such outrage that lawmakers banned the practice.

Salwa Bugaighis, a Libyan human rights lawyer who defended political prisoners under the regime of Col. Muammar Qaddafi and helped lead the rebellion against him, left the transitional government to protest the dearth of women in the new government, saying she would not be used as window-dressing and would continue to advocate from the outside.

I was honored to have the opportunity to ask these women about their lives, hear how far they’ve come and what’s next as they continue to advocate for social justice, support democracy and change their governments.

Indira Lakshmanan is a foreign policy reporter for Bloomberg News.