News Center- Zholia Parsi, an activist for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan and founder of the Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women, and Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov, a prominent human rights defender in Tajikistan, have won the 2024 Martin Ennals Awards, the Martin Ennals Foundation announced on Tuesday.

 “Zholia Parsi (Afghanistan) and Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov (Tadjikistan) have shown exceptional courage and determination to bring human rights at the forefront despite evolving in deeply repressive environments,” the foundation said.

“We are very proud to honor these two exceptional Laureates,” said Hans Thoolen, Chair of the Martin Ennals Award Jury. They have paid too big a price for justice and equality to be respected in Afghanistan and Tajikistan and the international community must support their efforts instead of battling geostrategic interests in the region.”