Yahoo – AFP,
26 Nov 2014
Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist, has been awarded the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize (AFP File) |
Doctor
Denis Mukwege received the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human
rights prize on Wednesday for his work in helping thousands of gang rape
victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
European
Parliament president Martin Schulz, who presented the 59-year-old with the
award at a ceremony in Strasbourg, said Mukwege "fought for the dignity of
women, justice and peace in his country".
"You
have eased the pain of countless women and girls and offered them a helping
hand so that their injured bodies and broken bodies may be healed," said
Schulz.
A Congolese
delegation sang for joy and waved flags from the parliamentary gallery as
Schulz handed Mukwege a plaque to mark the award, named after Soviet dissident
Andrei Sakharov.
Mukwege --
who was named as recipient of the award in October for his work in treating the
appalling injuries inflicted on the victims -- said he hoped the prize would
help to bring the plight of women in his country to an end.
"By
this prize you have decided to raise the visibility of the struggle of
Congolese women," he said to repeated standing ovations from European MPs
in the huge parliament chamber.
"In
every raped woman I see my wife, in every raped grandmother I see my mother, in
every raped child I see my children," added Mukwege, whose spouse attended
the ceremony with him.
He has
previously been tipped as a possible Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Members of
the pro-Western Ukraine democracy and rights group EuroMaidan, which led the
popular revolt against deposed president Viktor Yanukovych, were invited to the
ceremony as runners up for the prize.
The third
candidate was prominent Azerbaijani rights activist Leyla Yunus.
Rival
forces fighting for control of the vast mineral riches in eastern DR Congo have
used mass rape for decades to terrorise the local population into submission.
Mukwege
trained as a gynaecologist, going on to found the General Referral Hospital of
Panzi near Bukavu in South Kivu province which has seen some of the worst
violence.
He survived
an assassination attempt two years ago after speaking out about the continued
use of rape in the conflict and accused the world of failing to act.
Last year,
however, he defied threats and returned home to a warm welcome from thousands
of people.
The
Sakharov prize in 2013 was won by Pakistani education campaigner Malala
Yousafzai, while previous winners since the award was founded in 1988 include
late South African rights icon Nelson Mandela and Myanmar activist Aung San Suu
Kyi.
No comments:
Post a Comment