The Diplomat
The US State Department has awarded the Spanish nun Alicia Vacas Moro one of the International Women of Courage Awards (IWOC), with which the United States traditionally commemorates International Women’s Day.
The awards were presented in a virtual ceremony and in front of a small group of people by the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
With these awards, now in their 15th year, the State Department “recognises women around the world who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in the defense of peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk and sacrifice,” according to the US Embassy in Madrid, which endorsed the candidacy of Alicia Vacas.
Sister Alicia Vacas ran a health clinic in Egypt for eight years and helped 150 low-income patients treat their conditions. She then moved to the biblical town of Bethany to help an impoverished Bedouin community, particularly women and children. He organised training programmes for women to provide them with economic opportunities that had previously been unavailable, and set up kindergartens in Bedouin camps that provided an educational base for children.
In a climate marked by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Sister Alicia also helped traumatized refugees and asylum seekers, a work she continues to carry out on a larger scale in her current role as regional coordinator of the Comboni Sisters in the Middle East. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit northern Italy, she moved there to assist and treat other nuns, undeterred by the immense risk to her own health.
The other recipients of this year’s award are women from Belarus, Myanmar, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo; Guatemala, Iran, Nepal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Venezuela. In addition, an honorary award was given to seven Afghan women killed during 2020 while performing services to their community.
The State Department’s IWOC Awards have recognised more than 155 women from 75 countries since 2007. Following yesterday’s virtual ceremony, the awardees participated in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) remote exchange and connected with their US counterparts.
