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2004 Gruber Women's Rights Prize

The recipients are an individual whose courageous vision and leadership has helped Afghan women and children receive education and healthcare, and the organization that she founded, which has succeeded in empowering that population.

2004 Women's rights Prize Recipients

Laureate Profile

By the end of 2003 the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) served more than 350,000 Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan's refugee camps through its girls schools and programs in teacher training, health education, human rights education, women's leadership training, and literacy. It operates Women's Learning Centers where women can receive health care and participate in training classes. AIL is a model and a leader in rebuilding Afghan civil society.

 

Citation

The Women's Rights Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation is hereby proudly presented to Sakena Yacoobi, President of the Afghan Institute of Learning, for her courageous vision and leadership in implementing quality education, human rights training, and safe healthcare for Afghan women and children. Despite significant personal risk during the time of the Taliban and in the aftermath of violence and war, she has worked tirelessly to improve the life, opportunities, and social infrastructure of Afghanistan's neediest residents and its refugees in Pakistan.

The Women's Rights Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation is hereby proudly presented to the Afghan Institute of Learning for expanding health and education opportunities for women and children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The unwavering commitment of its dedicated teachers, doctors, and health care providers under the repressive Taliban regime and during post-war reconstruction has truly empowered hundreds of thousands of Afghan women and children, citizens and refugees alike.

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