SOLOMON Islands prominent woman lawyer and Chief Magistrate, Emma Garo has made history after been successfully nominated as a finalist of the 2018 International Women of Courage Award.
Although Garo missed out on the winners’ list of women awardees, her submission in this year’s Women of Courage Award was recognized in terms of her courageous staunch to advocate in the legal profession, which includes her efforts to protect women and children and upholding ethics in the legal profession.
Emma has assisted first hand with Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases and her strengths lie in immediately identifying the danger women are in. Emma helped an American citizen; facing abuse from her husband, escape from her home safely.
Meanwhile, she also took up the Resident Magistrate post in Nauru for two years. She recently returned to the Solomon Islands and was appointed Chief Magistrate of the Solomon Island Main Court – the first female to hold the post. She has also arranged to have judges go out to the provinces to hear legal cases and making major reforms at the Court.
The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness, and willingness to sacrifice for others, especially in promoting women’s rights.
With a record number of submissions, this year’s Women of Courage Awards are the most hotly contested to date, with the finalists representing some of the most courageous in the world.
Now in its 12th year, the Secretary of State’s IWOC Award recognizes women around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk and sacrifice. Since the inception of this award in 2007, the State Department has recognized more than 120 women from more than 65 different countries. U.S. diplomatic missions overseas nominate one woman of courage from their respective host countries. The finalists are selected and approved by senior Department officials.
The bios of the 2018 awardees are located here and names listed below:
- Roya Sadat of Afghanistan
- Aura Elena Farfan of Guatemala
- Julissa Villanueva of Honduras
- Aliyah Khalaf Saleh of Iraq
- Sister Maria Elena Berini of Italy (nominated by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See)
- Aiman Umarova of Kazakhstan
- Feride Rushiti of Kosovo
- L’Malouma Said of Mauritania
- Godelive Mukasarasi of Rwanda
- Sirikan Charoensiri of Thailand
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice established the award in 2007 on International Women’s Day, an annual celebration observed each March 8 in many countries worldwide. Each U.S. embassy has the right to recommend one woman as a candidate.
