Women’s contribution to peace rewarded

Six exceptional women have been rewarded by the international organisation Peace X Peace, an association that defends women's rights worldwide. On the International Day of Peace, Peace X Peace announced the six winners of the 2012 Women, Power and Peace Awards. The assosiation website says: "the six awards honour extraordinary individuals and organisations on the frontlines of peace and women’s achievements, contributions and self-empowerment worldwide." The Patricia Smith Melton Award honours Palestinian radio personality and documentary producer Rula Salameh. Ms. Salameh’s weekly television program highlights disabled Palestinians, patients who need support for immediate treatment and families in need. The Peace Philanthropy Award goes to Somy Ali, founder of the nonprofit No More Tears, which assists survivors of domestic violence. Ms. Ali spent her early years between Pakistan, India, and the US, earning acclaim as a Bollywood actress and model as well as two US college degrees. She has contributed more than $200,000 of her own money to the Florida-based organisation, and works personally with each of the survivors it assists. The Peace Media Award goes to India’s Aditi Bhaduri, an independent journalist whose stories consistently highlight women who build peace in regions destroyed by conflict, promote healing for conflict survivors, and resist injustice. She has reported for Arab News (Saudi Arabia), Gulf News (UAE), Newsline (Pakistan), Haaretz (Israel), and Women’s eNews (USA), as well as The Deccan Herald and other Indian media outlets. The Community Peacebuilder Award honours The Abraham Fund Initiatives for advancing equality and peaceful coexistence among Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens. The Fund, founded in 1989, inspires social change by working with individuals, Israeli government institutions, the business sector, and civil society to build trust and advance justice. The Connection Point Award honours Leena -Maija Talikka, founding president of Friends of Morocco in Finland. The association promotes intercultural exchange and mutual education between Moroccan and Finnish women as well as economic empowerment for Moroccan women. The Generation Peace Award honours Sara Potler, founder of Dance 4 Peace, for inspiring social change through the art of movement. Since 2007 the program has worked with over 5,542 youth in 15 cities on 4 continents.