Meet the 2014 participants:
Maha Babeker
Sudan
Maha is a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and is coordinating a project to advocate for the reform of adultery laws in Sudan. Maha is a graduate of the University of Khartoum. She has a long history as an activist—including participating in One Billion Rising and 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. As a woman human rights defender working on culturally justified violence against women in Sudan, her aim is to challenge the growing harassment and violence against women and girls that is justified by the Sharia laws and her culture. She does this through law reform and advocacy campaigns to raise awareness amongst men, women and youth about their rights in the hope that one day this could lead Sudan to a social, legal and political transformation.
Andrea Ixchíu
Guatemala
A journalist and workshop facilitator dedicated to promoting indigenous women’s rights. In 2012 elected to be the President of the Board of Natural Resources of the 48 Cantones, the local indigenous authorities in her hometown of Totonicapán. Since childhood, Andrea has organized local campaigns to denounce violence against women in her community. She now delivers workshops to youth on preventing gender violence. As a journalist, Andrea writes for local and municipal papers to promote indigenous women’s participation in traditional leadership structures. "I have always rebelled against the oppression of women, even if it comes from within our own culture. I don’t feel comfortable in a system that judges me for what I wear, and not for what I do. This is one of my motivations to work everyday with young women and men to build new relationships, and build an equal society where we the women can have the same opportunities to develop ourselves without all of these pressures."
Alice Vilmaro
South Sudan
A Gender and Planning Officer with the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) in Juba. In this role, Alice coordinates programs that promote the involvement of women and girls in South Sudan to achieve a lasting peace. A remarkable young leader, Alice is also working alongside a civil society monitoring team to effectively implement UN Resolution 1325 in the country. Alice worked with Rule of Law Promoters Association (RLPA) where she monitored and observed customary courts. My roles were to report on the status of local justice systems and human rights implementation. I was a student at University of Juba doing my bachelors degree while also volunteering. She is an actress for a local peace drama called Sawa Shabab (“Youth Together”) hosted by Free Voice. Since 2010 Alice has sung in the South Sudan National choir that sings national songs aimed at building patriotism.