A month after their release, a group of nine former Nicaraguan political prisoners gathered this Thursday in the capital of the United States to receive the “Champions for Justice” award from the Global Women’s Institute (GWI). from George Washington University, with which they honored his activism and social work.
This group attended on behalf of the 33 women who were released by the Nicaraguan government on February 9 along with 189 men, and who were expatriated and sent to Washington DC
The award was first presented as part of GWI’s 10th anniversary celebration and commemoration of International Women’s Month.
“It is an honor in the name of the 33 Nicaraguan defenders who were kidnapped and remained in different prisons for raising their voices in favor of human rights, the elderly, youth and especially Nicaraguan women,” said Maria Esperanza Sánchez, human rights activist.
Sánchez, who took the stage to thank on behalf of the other women, said that she was imprisoned on January 26, 2020 and confined in La Esperanza prison for her demonstrations against violence against women.
“As a woman I am aware of our own right to free expression, right to life, work and freedom. I want to proudly highlight the outstanding participation of women in all social sectors, an ideology of different generations. This generated cruelty against women, as we suffered ”, she added. “In Nicaragua, women continue to be victims of femicide and victims of a State that does not protect human rights. Our commitment is not to abandon our people”.
Eighteen of the 33 women honorees spent more than a year in prison, most in solitary confinement or solitary confinement for their activism and opposition, said Mary Ellsberg, director and founder of the GWI. These women recount having been deprived of communication with their children and family members during their time in prison.
“We are ready to rejoice in their release while acknowledging that the journey to healing will be long gone on that journey and we are proud of their work as champions for justice,” Ellsberg added.
Támara Dávila, sociologist, feminist and political activist, also took the stage to express her gratitude for the tribute and highlighted the importance of giving it within the framework of International Women’s Day. “In my country, for more than nine years now, it is unimaginable that women take to the streets on these dates and since 2018 it has been impossible to have a meeting like this. Any organized woman in Nicaragua is susceptible to being persecuted or criminalized against them and also their families,” she pointed out.
In an interview with VOA, Dávila added that in addition to the inequities that “all women in the world” face, in Nicaragua, they must also “live under repression for organizing, for belonging to groups or organizations or the women’s movement.”
“It is a very difficult situation, but as all the women inside and outside the country have said, on the occasion of March 8 we continue and we will continue to be committed to the fight for equality, to the fight against violence of any kind and committed to with a world, and in my case with a fairer, freer and more democratic Nicaragua,” he added.
The reunion of these women was a moment of “bliss”, Karla Escobar, who served almost three years in prison, told VOA. “I have no words for the happiness we have,” she added.
Escobar, who among women accumulates one of the longest times deprived of liberty, explained that she experienced “enough psychological violence not only from the authorities but from common prisoners” in the Tipitapa Model Prison.
In freedom, he claims to consider himself an example to follow in order to “incentivize the people of Nicaragua. Let them see that they are not alone. We are still here for them, not just for one of the women who stayed there but for all the men.”
Bolivian Brisa de Angulo, director of the organization Breeze of Hope, was also awarded the “Champions for Justice” award for her work with girls victims of sexual violence in her country.
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