Sri Lankan Recognized as an "International Woman of Courage" by the U.S. Department of State
Press Release ~ US Embassy Sri Lanka:
Colombo, March 2, 2010: The United States Embassy is pleased to announce that Ms. Jansila Majeed has been selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be one of ten recipients worldwide of the Department of State's International Women of Courage award.
Ms. Majeed is the Managing Trustee of Community Trust Fund in Puttalam district. The Trust oversees a number of programs on minority and women's issues, including women's rights, peace building, relief work, working with young people, and mine-risk education in the North and East. Ms. Majeeb's own particular focus is on uniting the Muslim and Tamil communities in her province.
Having lived as an internally displaced person (IDP) for almost 20 years, Ms. Majeed has become an energetic activist for services for displaced Muslim and Tamil civilians, focusing particularly on grassroots programs on life skills, health, and women's empowerment. Her activism began in 1992 with a working group of five people. She overcame both the general neglect of the problem of IDPs in the Muslim minority as well as her own community's parameters for women activists to build a broad-based organization that effectively works on minority and women's issues in a highly sensitive and politicized environment.
The annual International Women of Courage Award was started in March 2007 to recognize women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and advancement. This is the only award within the Department of State that pays tribute to outstanding women leaders worldwide. It recognizes the courage and leadership shown as they struggle for social justice and human rights.
The other awardees this year are: Shukria Asil (Afghanistan), Col. Shafiqa Quraishi (Afghanistan), Androula Henriques (Cyprus), Sonia Pierre (Dominican Republic), Shadi Sadr (Iran), Ann Njogu (Kenya), Dr. Lee Ae-ran (Republic of Korea), Sister Marie Claude Naddaf (Syria), and Jestina Mukoko (Zimbabwe).
2 Comments
Let it be noted in bold relief that this nondescript lady Ms Majeed is herself a displaced person as a result of the LTTE 's ( Tamil Tigers ') ethnic cleansing policies in the the Northern area. That she labors on in silence without rancor or cynicism qualifies her for more than this award and more than our Thanks, hopefully he actions may be the catalyst for the Sri Lanka's Sinhala and Tamils reaching out towards unity.
It is strange that the US has now sought to recognize something they ignored all these years, that the Tamil terrorists LTTE evicted and dispossessed these Muslims from the North. This lady is one of many who did not let adversity stand in her way.
The Muslims living in camps in Puttalam numbering some 200,000 should have been the first to have been resettled in their own homes, but I hope at least now they get the recognition they deserve and benefit from help from all sources.