Former Secretary Clinton Honors Christiane Amanpour, MECA Activists at Georgetown University’s Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards

(left to right) Amb. Melanne Verveer, Sec. Clinton, Christiane Amanpour, Muna Luqman and Alaa Salah on stage at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall for the 2023 Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards (Samantha Wang)

By Melis Akkum

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Georgetown University on Oct. 5 for the annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards. This year’s honorees included CNN’s Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour and women peacebuilders from Sudan, Yemen and Syria. 

Secretary Clinton and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) host the awards annually to honor pioneering women. The ceremony was moderated by Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of GIWPS.

Honoree Christiane Amanpour is a British-Iranian journalist, who hosts CNN’s flagship global affairs program, “Amanpour,” and is renowned for her on-the-ground conflict reporting. Throughout her career, which spans four decades, Amanpour has reported on many global conflicts, notably the 1991 Gulf War, the 2003 American-led invasion of Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s 2004 sentencing in the Middle East. 

Amanpour has also conducted a number of exclusive interviews, detailing some of the Middle East’ most pressing issues. For example, she spoke with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Afghani President Hamid Karzai following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Her track record also reaches to international human rights advocacy, as Amanpour has worked with critical figures, including Malala Yousafzai. 

In her remarks during the ceremony, Amanpour emphasized the importance of including women in discussions of war, peace and security.

“In my reporting, I talk about the women and the children because it does provide the template and the story for what’s actually going on in society,” Amanpour said.

Alaa Salah, a Sudanese democracy activist, also received an award. She is known as the “singing protestor” and gained international media attention in 2019 for her work spotlighting the revolution in Sudan. A university student at the time, Salah was selected as a representative at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security that same year. 

Despite coming at the cost of her academic career, Salah has continued to fight for freedom and democracy in Sudan. 

The award comes at a significant moment for Salah, “especially at a time where women in my country are deprived of any sense of peace and security.”

The ceremony also honored Yemeni advocate Muna Luqman, founder and chairperson of Food4Humanity, co-founder of the Women's Solidarity Network and member of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership. 

In addition, Luqman frequently briefs the U.N. Security Council, members of Congress and the U.N. Human Rights Council on matters such as water diplomacy and natural resources. 

Luqman accepted the award, thinking about her home country.

““[This award is] not only for Muna Luqman, it is for the Yemeni community who are in desperate need for this kind of highlighting of issues in Yemen,” Luqman said.”

“[This award is] not only for Muna Luqman, it is for the Yemeni community who are in desperate need for this kind of highlighting of issues in Yemen,” Luqman said.

Ghalia Rahhal was the final recipient of the 2023 awards. She is the founder of the Mazaya Organization for empowering women and a member of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement and joined the ceremony virtually. 

Rahhal, who converted her beauty salon in Kafr Nabl into a center to teach women and girls employable skills, literacy and first aid during the war, continues to play a vital role in negotiations on the U.N.-backed peace between the Syrian government and the opposition movement.

The panel featured discussions on women’s rights and the aftermath of war, with Secretary Clinton remarking “when men fight for a long time, it’s what they know to do. Governing is really hard” when transitioning from a state of war to maintaining peace and order. Finally, to students seeking advice to follow in their footsteps, Amanpour repeated her mantra “be truthful, not neutral,” emphasizing the importance of all journalists having to “figure out what it is they are watching.”

This year’s honorees, all pioneering women who have achieved success in advocacy and peace-building, provide great models for students to follow.