Jill Biden calls on men to support women fighting for rights

WASHINGTON (AP) – Jill Biden Wednesday praised a group of women from around the world, including Protest against Iran’s leadersTo show courage in fighting for their rights and urge men to “partner” with women and support them in their cause.

“As much as we need women who are willing to speak up, we need more men who are willing to listen and act,” the first lady said.

“We need more men to hold each other accountable when their sisters are hurt or left behind,” he said at a White House event. Recipient of the 2023 International Women of Courage Award. “We need more men who raise families, who feed, teach and mentor, who build safe communities. We need more men who know that caring, cooperation and kindness are signs of strength, not weakness.

“Men, we need to support women fighting for their rights and uplifting those who have been silenced,” he continued. “Partner with women. We all need to be ‘Men of Courage’. Only then can we build a world where men and women are equal and all people are free.”

In a ceremony held on International Women’s Day, Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken presented awards to 11 recipients from Afghanistan, Argentina, Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Poland and Ukraine.

The group includes the first female general to serve in the Mongolian armed forces, along with advocates for protecting indigenous lands in Costa Rica and ending discrimination against people with disabilities in Malaysia and LGBTQ people in Argentina.

was among them Julia Pievska, a Ukrainian medic who recorded harrowing bodycam footage showing his team’s efforts to save the wounded during Russia’s bombing of the city of Mariupol last year. Pievska gave the footage on a small data card to Associated Press reporters, who were the last international team in town.

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Journalists fled Mariupol with data cards and shared the images with the world. Pievska was captured by pro-Russian forces and held for three months.

A new group award, named for Madeleine Albrightwho died last March after making history in 1997 by becoming the first female US secretary of state, was given to the women and girls of Iran, who have been protesting against their government since last September.

Nationwide protests erupted in Iran following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Amini was accused of violating Iran’s strict dress code for women by improperly wearing a headscarf.

The International Women of Courage Award, created in 2007 by then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recognizes women who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength and leadership while advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and equity, and women’s empowerment. And girls More than 180 women from more than 80 countries have received the award since its inception.

Biden moved Wednesday’s event from its traditional home at the State Department because he wanted to “bring the stories of these incredible women to the biggest stage we have, and that’s certainly the White House,” Karin Jean-Pierre said. The press secretary of the White House also spoke at the event.