AS IT IS 2015-12-20 Three Women Get US Human Rights Award

AS IT IS 2015-12-20 Three Women Get US Human Rights Award

Three women with Muslim backgrounds have won an important international human-rights prize.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Irshad Manji and Rebiya Kadeer have been targets of violence because of their support for human rights.

The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice presented the awards in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. It called the women “fearless leaders, reformers and rebels who have been willing to defy social and cultural norms to speak out against human rights abuses.”

It said the women “have faced down personal danger to stand up for the vulnerable and persecuted¹.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was forced to undergo female genital mutilation in Somalia. More than 125 million females have had their genitals removed and sutured, says the World Health Organization. Most of them are younger than 15.

Ali’s father forced her to marry a family member. She fled to The Netherlands where she worked as a cleaner. She became a translator and later was elected to the Dutch Parliament. She has spent years fighting for women’s rights. She says no religion or culture should be used to justify² abuses against women.

She said she felt responsible to say something about those who use religion as a tool for hatred³, rape⁴ and killing⁵. And she said she wanted to “do something about it in the most peaceful ways.”

Death threats have not stopped her from supporting the rights of women, the foundation says.

Irshad Manji was born in Uganda, but she moved to Canada at age 4. She grew up in a violent household. By the time she was 14, she was removed from an Islamic school because she asked too many questions.

So, she began studying Islam without a teacher. She said her independent study helped her learn that she did not have to reject her faith to believe in freedom and rights. She has been a leader in efforts to reform Islam for many years.

She has received so many death threats that the windows in her apartment are bulletproof. Muslim extremists have demanded she be executed.

Manji, 46, said the award is about more than Islam. She said it is about all human beings.

Rebiya Kadeer is known as the “Mother of all Uighurs.” Uighurs are a group of Muslims in northwest China. They say they have been abused by the Chinese government for many years.

She grew up in rural China and was very poor. But she formed businesses and became rich.  

She once held important political positions in China. But in 1999, she was arrested and charged with giving secret information to a person outside of China and jailed.

Kadeer was released from prison in 2005 and moved to the United States. She is the president of the World Uighur Congress. The 69-year-old has strongly criticized Chinese officials and their treatment of Chinese-Muslims.

She said, “The Uighur issue is not a Uighur problem. It is a Chinese government problem -- a situation generated by systematic⁶ denial to Uighurs of fundamental human rights and freedoms.”

The award is named for U.S. Congressman⁷ Tom Lantos. He was the only survivor⁸ of the Holocaust⁹ to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He strongly supported human rights causes during almost 30 years in Congress.

The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is a non-profit group. It has given a human rights award yearly since 2009.

Among those who have been given the award are the Buddhist¹⁰ leader the Dalai Lama, Chinese human rights activist¹¹ Chen Guangcheng and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This is the first year it has been given to three women of Muslim backgrounds.

Words in This Story

background – n. the experiences, knowledge, education, etc., in a person's past

norm – n. standards of proper or acceptable behavior

face down – expression to confront someone in a resolute¹² or determined¹³ manner

stand up for – expression to take the side of someone or something; to defend someone or something.

female genital mutilation – n. the cutting, or partial or total removal, of the external female genitalia for religious, cultural or other non-medical reasons

suture – v. to sew together (a cut, wound, etc.)

translator – n. a person who changes words written or spoken in one language into a different language

bulletproof – adj. made to stop bullets from going through

systematic – adj. using a careful system or method; done according to a system

Holocaust – n. the killing of millions of Jews and other people by the Nazis during World War II

1 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

2 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

3 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

9 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

10 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。