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US Honors Afghan Doctor as an International Woman of Courage

Dr. Nasrin Oryakhil, president of the Afghan Family Health Association, was among 10 women honored this week by the US State Department with an International Women of Courage award.

Dr. Nasrin, a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology, operated an underground women’s health clinic in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, providing urgently needed maternal health services, including emergency obstetric care. “Sometimes in the evening, Taliban members would barge into her clinic and beat her, demanding her to stop working and start praying,” relayed Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, presenting the award. “But she continued working, praying only that God would bring change to her country. One night, after the Taliban assaulted her, Dr. Nasrin went on to perform 17 surgeries.”

Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Nasrin, directs the Malalai Maternity Hospital in Kabul and founded the first clinic for obstetric fistula repair in Afghanistan there. Dr. Nasrin is a member of the Afghan Women’s Network and also leads the Afghan Family Health Association, which provides a variety of services to women and girls, including reproductive health programs, a youth hotline, and shelters for women.

Accepting the award, Dr. Nasrin expressed that “the hope of women around the world one day will be materialized when they find themselves in an environment that truly recognizes and appreciates the real essence of being a woman and a mother.”

Since 2007, the US State Department has honored 70 women from 49 countries with the International Women of Courage award in recognition of their work advocating for women’s rights, human rights, and peace.

Sources:

US Department of State 3/3/14; Voice of America 3/4/14

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