By Darlene Superville | Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Jill Biden on Wednesday praised a group of women from around the world, including those who have been protesting against Iran’s leaders, for showing courage while fighting for their rights and called on men to “be partners” with women and support them in their cause.
“As much as we need women who are willing to speak up, we need more men who are willing to listen and act,” the first lady said.
“We need more men to hold each other accountable when their sisters are being hurt or left behind,” she said at a White House ceremony for the 2023 recipients of the International Women of Courage Awards. “We need more men who nurture families, who feed and teach and mentor, who build safer communities. We need more men who know that caring, collaboration and kindness are signs of strength, not weakness.
“Men, we need you to support the women who are fighting for their rights and to lift up those who have been silenced,” she continued. “Be partners, be partners with women. Become the ‘men of courage’ we need. Only then will we be able to build a world where men and women are equal and all people are free.”
At the ceremony, held on International Women’s Day, Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented awards to 11 recipients from Afghanistan, Argentina, Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Poland and Ukraine.
The group includes the first female general to serve in the Mongolian armed forces, along with advocates for protecting indigenous lands in Costa Rica and ending discrimination against people with disabilities in Malaysia and against LGBTQ people in Argentina.
Among them was Yuliia Paievska, a Ukrainian medic who last year recorded reams of harrowing bodycam footage showing her team’s efforts to save those who were wounded during Russia’s bombardment of the city of Mariupol. Paievska gave the footage to Associated Press…
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