Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina and Ukrainian midwife Tetiana Sokolova from Mariupol have been awarded the Reach all Women in War (RAW in WAR) Anna Politkovskaya Award, which is given to female human rights defenders during wars and conflicts.
Svetlana Gannushkina. Photo: RAW in WAR
“Svetlana Gannushkina is someone who has dedicated her whole life to saving people. Recently, on her 80th birthday, she stood in the square once again to say, ‘No to the war in Ukraine and yes to freedom in Russia’. She was arrested, but not charged with a criminal offence, as is now the custom in Russia, probably only because even the current Putin regime is ashamed of putting our conscience behind bars.
Our second heroine is Tetiana Sokolova. Working in the basement of a wrecked maternity hospital in Mariupol, she did not abandon her post and under the never-ending shelling delivered babies to women who came on their own, or who were found among the rubble and brought to her from across the bombed-out city. Thanks to her efforts, 27 babies were born in that basement,” Belarusian writer and Nobel Prize laureate, Svetlana Alexievich, said on announcing the winners.
Tetiana Sokolova. Photo: RAW in WAR
“Today we thank Svetlana and Tetiana, we tell them of our admiration. We honour the courage and fearlessness of these women who chose the path of good, the path of light, who set an example. By honouring them, we honour all those who are defending life today,” Alexievich said.
RAW in WAR is an international human rights NGO supporting female human rights defenders, as well as women and girl victims of war and conflict around the world. It previously awarded Svetlana Alexievich, human rights defenders Natalia Estemirova and Valentina Cherevatenko, for standing up for the victims, often at great personal risk.
7 October 2022 marks the 16th anniversary of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a reporter of Novaya Gazeta. She was shot in the hall of her apartment building in Moscow. A year ago, the statute of limitations for her murder case ran out. The investigation still has not named the instigator of the crime. The team of Novaya Gazeta pushes for reopening Politkovskaya’s murder case and uncovering the name of the instigator.
