The bells of the church of the small island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in the Venice lagoon rang out to announce that a new Aurora prize laureate had been awarded the one million dollars to continue the work she has been involved in for the past quarter of a century to help women in Afghanistan access education.
Forty-six-year-old Jamila Afghani was awarded the seventh annual Aurora prize for Awakening Humanity.
Aurora prize for Awakening Humanity
She is an educator and human rights defender who in January 2001 established the non-governmental and non-political Noor Educational & Capacity Development Organization (NECDO) In Kabul.
Unable to attend the ceremonies personally, a tearful and humbled Afghani thanked her supporters from a giant screen visible to all those attending the special Aurora prize event.
She said that her country and her people in Afghanistan are experiencing “the darkest days of history”.
She added: “Today my children are not allowed to go to school because they are young girls and my sisters are not ever to go to work”, she told her audience from Canada, where she was forced to flee after the Taleban took over.
“This is the biggest punishment a human being can have in one’s own country”, Afghani stated.
Afghani has not given up and continues to support her people. She has worked tirelessly to uphold human rights for women in her country admitted that sometimes one feels that humanity no longer exists in the world.
But she said that more than for herself, “this recognition means for the people of Afghanistan, for the girls and women of Afghanistan, that humanity is alive” and gives hope to continue in their struggle.
“Usually when women were coming to me & crying to me I was hugging them & giving them feeling that I was beside them. I was a source of hope for many women․”
— Aurora Prize (@auroraprize_) October 17, 2022
7th annual #AuroraPrize was awarded to @JamilaAfghani, human rights defender from #Afghanistan. https://t.co/yQcOgcnZ5C
Three finalists
The Aurora Prize Selection Committee had met earlier over the weekend to select the winner out of three finalists.
The others included peace activist and body collector Hadi Jumaan from Yemen, the only one able to attend the ceremony in Venice, and Egyptian human rights lawyer Mahienour El-Massry, who was banned by her country’s authorities from travelling to the event.
Among those in attendance was Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
She noted that the human rights issue is a struggle and the way forward not always easy as one feels time is running out, adding that “People like Jamila Afghani shine a light of hope on the future and show us all a way out of the darkness”.
“Aurora honors special, courageous individuals who've made a difference in the lives of their community.” – Mary Robinson, Aurora Prize Selection Committee Member, Chair of @TheElders
— Aurora Prize (@auroraprize_) September 26, 2022
2022 #AuroraPrize Laureate will be announced on San Lazzaro Island on Oct. 15. #AuroraInVenice pic.twitter.com/8xA2MNmHhv
Events on San Lazzaro island included a prayer service and sacred music concert by the Piccoli Cantori Veneziani Choir which filled the air with the sounds of traditional Armenian and Middle Eastern instruments.
A visual and colourful art piece from the !6th century “Holy Mother of Sevan” was projected onto one of the patio’s facades with excerpts of Armenian manuscripts as the children sang. Spiritual songs in the church and at the ceremony were performed by soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, of Armenian descent.
The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was established by three philanthropists of Armenian origin: Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan in 2015 on the centennial of the Armenian genocide. The prize is awarded to extraordinary humanitarians for their work and impact.
