DUSHANBE, March 5, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Tajik human rights activist, Ms. Oynihol Bobonazarova, and other winners of State’s International Women of Courage Ward are going on a multi-day tour of the United States where they will speak at various conferences.

According to the U.S. Embassy Dushanbe, the award winners will travel as a group to Pittsburgh, then separately to cities across the United States to engage with the American people through an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

They will visit Denver, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Portland, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Syracuse on their individual programs.  The women will reconvene in Chicago to reflect on their visit and discuss ways to work together to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.

We will recall that Ms. Oynihol Bobonazarova, a pioneer of the human rights movement in Tajikistan, was among 10 women awarded as "International Women of Courage" by the U.S. Department of State.

Ms. Heather A. Higginbottom, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, presented the extraordinary women with the 2014 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award on March 4.  First Lady Michelle Obama joined Deputy Secretary Higginbottom and the awardees as a special guest at the morning ceremony at the U.S. Department of State.

A lawyer by profession, Ms. Bobonazarova is best known for her advocacy of human rights and her work with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Open Society Institute/Assistance Foundation.

Ms. Oynihol Bobonazarova is the head of the "Perspektiva" social movement and since 1990 has been known for her work with democratic parties in Tajikistan.

In September 2013, Ms. Bobonazarova became the first ever female candidate for President of Tajikistan when the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) nominated her as its standard bearer.  Since her unsuccessful bid for the presidency, Ms. Bobonazarova has continued to speak out against torture and has been instrumental in working with the NGO association “Coalition against Torture” and the Ombudsman’s Office to establish the first independent prison monitoring program since prisons were closed to outside access in 2004.

The other award winners were Nasrin Oryakhil from Afghanistan, Ruslana Lyzhchko from Ukraine, Rusudan Gotrsiridze from Georgia, Roshika Deo from Fiji, Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar of Guatemala, Laxmi of India, Fatimata Toure of Mali, Maha al-Munif of Saudi Arabia, and Beatrice Mtetwa of Zimbabwe.

The International Women of Courage Award is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness and willingness to sacrifice for others, especially for better promotion of women''s rights.

The award was established in 2007 by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the International Women''s Day, an annual celebration observed each March 8 in many countries worldwide.  U.S. embassies have the right to recommend one woman as a candidate.

Since the inception of this award, the Department of State has honored 76 women from 49 different countries.