Oxfam International Partner Wins Profile in Courage Award
Dr. Sima Samar receives John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for bringing health and education to Afghan girls and women.
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Dr. Sima Samar, founder and Director of Oxfam International partner, Shuhada, has been selected to receive the prestigious 2004 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. The award recognizes Dr. Samar's work to deliver education and health care to women and girls living in central Afghanistan.
The Profile in Courage Award is "presented annually to public servants who have withstood strong opposition to follow what they believe is the right course of action." The award will be presented to Dr. Samar on May 24th in a ceremony hosted by Caroline Kennedy and Senator Edward Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, MA.
The first Hazara woman to graduate from Kabul University's medical program, Dr. Samar founded Shuhada in 1989 to meet the health and education needs of women and children in Afghanistan's remote central highlands where services are not offered by the government or other providers. Shuhada has opened three hospitals and 10 health clinics, and the 50 schools it operates provide education to more than 20,000 students. Shuhada has also engineered literacy programs, food aid distribution, hygiene education, and family planning.
Dr. Samar has achieved her successes in spite of enormous resistance, mostly from the former ruling Taliban party. For years, the Taliban denied women and girls their basic rights to education, employment, and medical care. In 2000, the Taliban closed two of her hospitals, but Dr. Samar has managed to keep her remaining hospitals open.
Oxfam has supported Shuhada's work since 1997. When the Shuhada hospital in Yakawlang was destroyed by fighting between the Taliban and opposing Hazara militia in 2001, Oxfam assisted with rebuilding.
Despite frequent threats to her life (she once sought refuge from armed assailants in a United Nations office), Dr. Samar continues to champion the rights of Afghan women and girls. "In the face of constant danger, she has persevered, providing critical medical care and crusading political support for her countrywomen," Caroline Kennedy said. "Dr. Samar is working to transform a culture of terrorism into one that respects equal rights for women and human rights for all. She is a true Profile in Courage."