Skip to main content

Woman of Courage

Each year UNANIMA International presents the “Woman of Courage Award,” which honors Women from around the World who have exhibited exceptional courage and leadership to make a difference in their communities, especially for the betterment of the lives of women and children.

Nominations are submitted by our member congregations, and a vote is held by UNANIMA International’s Board of Directors. A “Woman of Courage Award” Ceremony is then held to honor the winner.

Sr Brigid Arthur

Woman of Courage 2024

Sr Brigid Arthur, CSB, taught for many years in Melbourne, Australia, where she lived among new migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, learning about the difficulties that many faced. In 2001, she was a founding member of the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project, providing practical support to asylum seekers, including emergency funds, food and housing.

Brigid is a former long-term board member of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and a litigation guardian for young Indigenous people and young people seeking climate action. Her support for many asylum seekers who need a representative in Federal Court matters has helped them obtain critical, urgent care in Australia.

With patience, courage and compassion, Brigid continues to care for asylum seekers embodying the motto of the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project: ‘Strength and kindness’.

Maria Cavalcante

Maria José Cavalcante

Woman of Courage 2021

Maria José Cavalcante is from Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil. As a young leader fighting for the rights of her community—displaced by a big sugarcane corporation—she faced the gunmen of the sugarcane owners and the police force in confrontations. As a militant of the C.P.T. (Pastoral Land Commission) and of the Women’s Workers’ Movement (MMTR) she acquired new social-political awareness while occupying the land with other leaders and facing police violence and threats of eviction.

After years of struggle and persecution, Maria and the other leaders were were able to conquer an area of land. Thirty-five families were allocated seven hectares of the land per family. As time went on Maria has led her community in beginning pesticide-free agriculture—working on planting and reforesting the land so damaged by the chemicals used for so many years in the fertilization of sugarcane.

Her efforts to fight against poverty and inequality were also evident in 2009 when she spent six months working to help rebuild Haiti after an earthquake, and then during the coronavirus pandemic, as she organized other women in surrounding settlements to collect food to help 40 nearby families that were suffering.

María Elena Herrera Magdaleno

Woman of Courage 2018

María Elena lives with the tragedy of having lost four children to enforced disappearances in the fallout of the Mexican “War Against Drug Trafficking,” which was organized in 2006 in order to fight drug cartels but has unleashed a wave of violence, insecurity, and human trafficking. In her transit through this deep pain, María Herrera Magdaleno has transformed herself from a victim to a seeker of missing persons, a human rights defender, a promoter of unity and mutual support among groups of families seeking a loved one who has disappeared in Mexico.
Together with her husband and children, María has created the association “Familiares en búsqueda María Herrera” (“Relatives in Search”), which aims to “organize, embrace, strengthen and empower people [who] share the pain of the disappearance of loved ones." She has become a symbol of peaceful and tenacious resistance whose presence gives security and comfort to other mothers who suffer the same pain.
With strength and clarity, she has led other relatives of missing people to confront the Mexican government in many ways, including by meeting with Felipe Calderón in 2011 and joining the Caravan for Peace movement throughout Mexico and the United States.

Sr Anna Bałchan

Woman of Courage 2023

From Katowice, Poland, Sr. Anna Balchan, SMI is a Sister in the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, a theologian, therapist and social activist. She is a member of the Interdisciplinary Team for Counteracting Trafficking in Human Beings at the Ministry of Interior and Administration, the Provincial Team for Counteracting Trafficking in Human Beings (Silesian Province); the Interdisciplinary Team for Counteracting Violence in the Family; the All-Poland Network of NGOs against Trafficking in Human Beings; and is a board member of the "Bakhita" Network. Sr Anna is also a certified Motivational Therapist, and has over 19 years of experience working with victims of human trafficking, addicts, and the homeless.

She is one of the founders of the Association and Care Centre where she helps victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. The Center assures social and material help for those under its care, helping them recover their balance–both psychological and spiritual–and regain the sense of self-respect and dignity. It 24 hour care, including therapeutical activities, and gives those in need the opportunity of entering a support group. She also runs prevention workshops on human trafficking, and trains professionals working with those in need.

Sr. Séraphine Ratavy, DW

Woman of Courage 2020

Sr Seraphine Ratavy, DW was nominated as the Woman of Courage 2020 for her many and important contributions made during her mission in Nomad, Papua New Guinea, which is in the remotest part of Daru-Kiunga and only accessible by small plane. During her time in Papua New
Guinea, Seraphine used her agricultural skills to work with women close to the main station, as well as setting up a women’s club at which she taught sewing, and trained young women to help her. As she became established, her outreach increased to the surrounding villages, which were very isolated. Eventually she found the small Gebusi Tribe, living a few hours walk and a canoe ride from Nomad. These people became the focus for Sr. Seraphine in this area, and she worked with the men and women in all fields of learning. A worthy recipient of the Woman of Courage award, Sr Seraphine was unassuming and humble in her acceptance. UNANIMA International was extremely pleased to present this annual award to Sr Seraphine, who in her ministry and personal life embodies the qualities which we believe are essential for the advancement of women everywhere:
solidarity, and a passion for human rights and the poor.

UNANIMA International’s admirers Sr. Seraphine's outreach and the lengths she went to to work with even the most isolated communities, what we often refer to at the United Nations as the “furthest left behind”. We congratulate Seraphine on her courageous work and
thanked her deeply for her commitment to UNANIMA International’s values.

Marietta Latonio

Woman of Courage 2017

Marietta is a social worker who lives and works in Cebu, Philippines. She has been the director of many welfare programs; led the implementation of community-based programs for more than 20 years; worked for many NGOs focused on the welfare of women and children; has been a lifelong advocate for children’s human rights;, and more recently involved with the “I Have a Voice” research project.
She is now the monitor / evaluator of programs at Good Shepherd Welcome House in Cebu. Not only does she work with and support girls and women on the street; but she educates pimps about trafficking, and networks with bar managers in an effort to identify and help women in need. Marietta has done many international presentations, and is now getting a degree with research focused on interventions for recovery of trafficking survivors.
Helena Garzon

Helena Maleno Garzón

Woman of Courage 2022

Helena Maleno Garzón is a researcher, investigator, journalist, and activist who stands up for the rights of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of human trafficking who attempt to reach Europe by sea and land. In her reporting she has denounced human rights violations on the Spanish Southern Border and works with migrant communities in defense of their rights.

In 2002 Helena founded Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders), an organization that rescues sea vessels carrying migrants that are in danger of sinking, and provides support for them once they arrive in Europe. It is estimated that she has saved at least ten thousand lives through her work relaying the locations of sinking sea vessels to Spanish naval authorities. Helena continues to do this work despite ongoing judicial harassment and threats from the governments of Morocco and Spain, who have criminalized her efforts.

Mary McAleese

Woman of Courage 2019

Mary McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland, 1997 – 2011, and was the first Irish President born in Northern Ireland. The eldest of nine children, she grew up in Northern Ireland through the violent times that have come to be known as ‘The Troubles’. Her family was one of many adversely affected by the conflict. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, she received her law degree from Queen’s University of Belfast. Prior to her distinguished term as President, she held several positions in higher education, including Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin and Director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies and Pro-Vice Chancellor at Queen’s University of Belfast. McAleese described the theme of her Presidency as "Building Bridges”, which was reflected in her efforts towards reconciliation and peace building within Northern Ireland and between the North and the South. Improving the living standards for those living in poverty, of promoting a dialogue and consensus internationally to resolve conflicts and disputes instead of violence were among the many strategies she implemented to achieve this. She made social inclusion, equality, and reconciliation, sharing and caring the themes of her incumbency. As President of an increasingly prosperous and harmonious Ireland, she worked to extend the experience of transformation beyond Ireland's island shores as a story of hope for all people. By succeeding a popular President who was also a woman, McAleese is also a prominent role model and advocate for gender equality. UNANIMA International is inspired by her courage, determination, and leadership, and are confident that her work has contributed to the life of many.

Meera Karunananthan

Woman of Courage 2016

Meera was born in Sri Lanka, and educated in Quebec, Canada, and is truly a global citizen with a global conscience. Fearlessly, she led a two-year global coalition for the human right to water to be named in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—-there was no member state too big or small for her to engage! Her campaign is lauded as one of the strongest rights-based campaigns during the negotiations for a new sustainable development agenda! Meera organizes the Council of Canadians’ public access-to-water campaign, called the Blue Planet Project. She mobilizes public opposition to privatization of water and bulk water exports while organizing grassroots political movements in many countries.
Meera is a young, water justice warrior who has helped people and the planet immensely in her advocacy and action. UI is inspired by her courage, determination, and leadership, and are confident that the work she did on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will continue to help hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.

Máxima Acuña de Chaupe

Woman of Courage 2015

This courageous Peruvian peasant farmer has become an activist in defending her life and her water against Yanacocha, a huge gold mining company. The company wanted her land for a planned extraction project, and they sued her for living there and for her “aggravated usurpation” in activism against the company. Máxima and her family were not only ordered to leave the land, they were asked to pay the company a compensation fine of about US $2,000. Men from the mining company and special police forces have beaten her and her husband, threatened the family’s lives, and killed her livestock.
Máxima and her daughter Ysidora have testified to human rights officials in Paris, Brussels, and Geneva against the disproportionate struggle in which her basic democratic rights have been trampled. When UNANIMA offered to bring her to the UN to speak about land-grabbing, and mining, and water issues, she had to refuse because she was afraid that ifafraid if she left the country at that time, the company would tear down her little hut. UI has become more involved in the issue of mining and land-grabbing as they relate to water, the environment, and Indigenous Peoples, and many of our sisters are working in this area.

Rose Mapendo

Woman of Courage 2014

When ethnic violence engulfed the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the late 1990s. Rose Mapendo was imprisoned with her entire family, after a harrowing night time arrest. of her entire family. Her husband was executed, and her twin sons were born in prison. She emerged from this experience advocating forgiveness and reconciliation. In a country where ethnic violence has created seemingly irreparable rifts among Tutsis, Hutus, and other Congolese, this remarkable woman is a vital voice in her nation’s search for peace, encouraging world and local leaders to revisit the manner in which they enforce justice.
Today, she is a global activist for peace and reconciliation and an in-demand motivational speaker. She has been honored by the White House and named the 2009 Humanitarian of the Year by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. ln 2012, she founded the Rose Mapendo Foundation, a non-profit committed to empowering widows, women, and children around the world. Rose’s story has been chronicled in the documentary film “Pushing the Elephant.” Mapendo is a victim no more. She is an incredible survivor, a true hero, and an inspiration to us all.

Margaret Mary Issaka

Woman of Courage 2013

A Ghanaian from Bolgatanga, Margaret Mary Issaka credits her parents with showing her what courage was—-her mother for bravely enduring the scorn of neighbors over her family of seven girls and no boys, and her father for refusing to take another wife in spite of that social “embarrassment.’’ She had a good education:, learning eight languages; receiving an advanced diploma in Education for Primary Health Care from the University of Manchester in Britain; and earning many certificates, including one in radio journalism.
Margaret Mary worked for over 30 years as an educator, social researcher, community organizer, communication specialist, and activist. She produced and delivered her own radio programs in nutrition, health, and sanitation, bringing health education and development to poor, non-literate, rural populations with a focus on empowering women and girls. As a senior consultant in a management consulting firm, she enabled communities to manage water and sanitation facilities. As Executive Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives, Margaret Mary helped empower women through education and training. In a society where most women thought they were meant to be seen and not heard, it took real courage to help women to know their rights, to become economically independent, and to take their rightful place at all levels of society.

Nely Rodriguez

Woman of Courage 2012

UNANIMA International’s fifth Woman of Courage spends most of her time with the workers in the fields of southern Florida, USA. Nely Rodriguez came to the USA from Mexico as a migrant worker. Her courage and leadership skills soon became evident as she helped organize the workers in fighting a national campaign for better wages and living conditions in the tomato fields of Immokalee, Florida. The workers—-largely Hispanic. Haitian, and Mayan immigrants—-were still doing their back-breaking work for wages unchanged since 1980. Nely was one of the speakers at our side event during the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, and she impressed everyone with her confidence and conviction.

Sr. Judith Shadap, RNDM

Woman of Courage 2009

Sr. Judith is the founder of Women for Integrated Sustainable Empowerment (WISE), a non-governmental organization that serves as the social action wing of her congregation, Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, in North-East India. WISE aims “to empower the poor, the marginalised and discriminated against, the voiceless and powerless, especially women, school drop-out girls, domestic workers and women in difficult circumstances, to develop themselves socially and economically.” In her work with WISE, Judith uses a self-help group ideology to promote a transformation process through vocational training in tailoring, embroidery, knitting, handicrafts and candle-making, among other skills for women in difficult situations. She also organizes and conducts programs at the Shillong District Jail and the Juvenile House. Through her work, Sister Judith aims to alleviate poverty and encourage holistic development of those living in rural areas. In 2016, she received the North East India Social Work Award.

Jessica Ernst

Woman of Courage 2011

Jessica Ernst received the 2011 UNANIMA International Woman of Courage award at the October 2011 opening of UNANIMA’s ten-year anniversary celebration. Now a biologist and environmental activist, Jessica began her career as a patch-oil consultant. When the natural gas producer Encana introduced fracking practices in the Calgary region, she was a major voice in exposing its harmful effects in other areas of Alberta, Canada after seeing her own householdhouse hold contaminated with pollutants. At great personal cost, she took the issue publicly, exposing Encana’s violations in provincial laws to carry out hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from the area. In April 2011 she released a statement of claim in a lawsuit Ernst v. Encana, alleging that Encana “failed to follow the investigation and enforcement processes that they had established and publicized.”

Hasina Kharbhih

Woman of Courage 2009

Our annual Woman of Courage Award went to two women who have shown amazing courage in the struggle against poverty, HIV/AIDS, and human trafficking in Northeast India. Historically isolated by geography and politics and torn by ethnic warfare, Northeast India is a center for human trafficking. Poverty, an effect of armed conflict i n the region, has displaced people from their homes. Additionally, it has increased the vulnerability of children and young women to sexual exploitation and HIV AIDS.
Hasina Kharbhih, a founder, president, and team leader of the Impulse NGO Network, responded by developing an expansive tracking system to combat child trafficking. This comprehensive model successfully brings together the state government, security agencies, legal groups, media, and citizen organizations to combat the cross-border trafficking of children in the region and on the nearby crossings to Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Her desire to build a world fit for children takes on issues of child trafficking, HIV/AIDS intervention, and livelihood support initiatives for rural Northeast India.

Sr. Therese Stritch, RSM

Woman of Courage 2010

Born in Ireland, Therese arrived in Kenya in I 973. Learning the Kikuyu language, she helped the local women, many with little formal schooling, to become self-supporting. After joining the Express Community to work with women of the Mukuru slums in Nairobi’s industrial area, Therese started a Skills Training Centre for young girls in a temporary classroom. Later, British Airways staff provided funding for a permanent skills training center at Bakhita Primary School where the center still operates. Here, girls from Mukuru and other nearby slums are taught knitting, dressmaking, craft work, hairdressing, and more recently computer applications. Now she lives in Lokori, in the heart of the South Turkana desert, continuing her work with women and girls, along with literacy classes for the shepherd boys in the evenings and separate classes for the local Shamba girls.
On several occasions she has faced violence or imprisonment. More recently, as the Chairperson of the Archdiocese of Nairobi AOSK Peace & Justice group, she was imprisoned. She and about 100 representatives from different organizations were peacefully demonstrating to ask for cancellation of the World Bank debt. They had just handed in a letter at the World Bank offices when they were surrounded by riot police. Therese and 62 others were then bundled into a riot police lorries and taken to a cell at Central Police Station, Nairobi. At the police station, Therese was in a crowded police cell with the other arrested marchers. At one stage the religious were told they could leave, but they would not go with- out the others, so they all remained in the same cell. Finally, in the morning they were transported to the district court and again imprisoned in a crowded basement cell to await being called. They were all charged with holding an illegal demonstration even though they had notified the police in advance.

Lydia Cacho Ribeiro

Woman of Courage 2008

Our first annual Woman of Courage Award honored Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, a journalist and women’s rights activist from Mexico. Lydia founded and directs a crisis center and shelter for victims of sex-crimes, gender-based violence, and human trafficking- Centro Integral de Attenci6na la Mujer (CJAM)-in Cancun, Mexico. As an investigative journalist, she has uncovered the involvement of businessmen, politicians, and drug traffickers in prostitution and child pornography. She has also written to expose the crimes against children in sex tourism in a book entitled Los Demonios del Eden: El poder detras de la porn igrafta infantil (Demons in Eden: the power behind child pornography). The threats and violence against in her work have only made her bolder in continuing her work against corruption, even at high levels. In 1999, she was raped in an attempt to intimidate her.


Consequently, she was the first woman to file a federal suit against a governor, a district attorney, and a judge for corruption and attempted rape in prison. She was also the first woman in Mexican history to take a women’s rights case to the Mexican Supreme Court.