First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry honor the recipients of the International Women of Courage Award

First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry honor the recipients of the International Women of Courage Award in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., March 8, 2013. Seated, from left, are: awardee Malalai Bahaduri, First Sergeant, Afghan National Interdiction Unit, Afghanistan; awardee Julieta Castellanos, Rector, National Autonomous University of Honduras, Honduras; awardee Dr. Josephine Obiajulu Odumakin, President, Campaign for Democracy, Nigeria; Secretary of State John Kerry; Teresa Heinz Kerry, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman; awardee Elena Milashina, journalist and human rights activist, Russia; and awardee Fartuun Adan, Executive Director, Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, Somalia. Awarded in absentia were Tsering Woeser (Wei Se), Tibetan author, poet, blogger, China; Razan Zeitunah, human rights lawyer and Founder, Local Coordination Committees,Syria; Ta Phong Tan, blogger,Vietnam; and Nirbhaya “Fearless,” champion for justice, India.