Are 1 million more people inre private sector jobs. We see it in the fact that the rate of new business creation is the fastest now than it has ever been in the history. Our economy employs more people now than it has done in ourt history. There is still a long difficult road to travel. The def at this time deficit is down by a quarter. Were taking the stops we need to get our economy moving. We have nothing constructive from the party opposite. Thank you. , thank you, mr. Speaker. Ha i am delighted to hear the primo minister he agrees to pay the industry. He is now committing to the one. Thing we know that would make ae difference and cut the charges. W yes or no . E no, i think the mosto . Important thing today is to welcome what the opposite fair trade is doing which is puttings these companies on notice and ir think it is worth making the point that you if you dont have an effective sector you do see far more dangers from loan sharks which is the point she iu making. This week the 45 Million People of tenure one of the fastestemerging markets in which the u. K. Is the biggest trade partner went to the polls. Yesterday i came back from the bureau in kenya of dr. Anthonyco king, the world renown in the fight against poaching, tragically killed last week. Would the Prime Minister take this opportunity to send our condolences and our support to the people of ken why and showing the powerful democracy. Now i come men my honorable friend raising this issue. E i join him and pay trib baut to andny king. I know my honorable friending traveled to ken why to speak ata his funeral. We all want to see proper, free, Fair Elections competed, counted and finished in ken why and the proper democraticallyelected government in that country, ands to make sure there is justice. Question time will air live this wednesday on cspan2 at 8 00 a. M. Eastern. That is an hour later than usual due to the time change. You can also watch it sunday nights at 9 00 eastern and pacific on cspan. Tomorrow on cspan, the Senior Advocacy group will talk about benefit and how changes in cost of living may affect Social Security recipients including veterans. Americans with disabilities and people with very long incomes. Live coverage begins at 10 00 a. M. Eastern here on cspan. And also live, a little later at noon eastern, the Czech Republic former twoterm president talks about the european debt crisis. He is speaking at the cato institute. Next, the funeral of venezuelan president hugo chavez. He died from cancer this week at age 58 after 14 years in power. According to venezuelan officials, his body will be embalmed on put on display permanently. Interim president Nicolas Maduro and Jesse Jackson jr. Spoke at the funeral in caracas. This is 45 minutes. Let us join hands. Bow our heads in prayer. I want to thank the family for allowing us to say a prayer on this holy occasion. Today we are here, not because hugo chavez has died, but because he lived. Death is certain. Life is uncertain. Thus, life of service matters. We pray to god today that the soul of hugo chavez will find peace and acceptance for his service in the kingdom. Grant him mercy and grace. The family mourns today. Comfort them. Venezuela cries today. Reassure them. Venezuela is not left alone. Maduro, grant him wisdom and support as he keeps hopes and dreams alive, as he picks up the baton, and makes a great nation greater. We pray to god today, that you will heal the breach between u. S. And venezuela. Ye though we walk through the valley and had doe of death, we feel no evil. For you are with us. Let us forgive, redeem and move on to higher ground. We are neighbors. We share the same hemisphere. We play ball together. We trade resources together. We fight drugs together. We share dreams together. We are bond by culture and environment. We are bound by culture and environment. Even the best of this leader, who separate us from your love, dear god, neither heights or depths, shall separate us, now jesus, remove our doubts and fears. Dry our eyes. Today, a great nation mourns. How we pressure a great leader leader how we measure a great lead, hugo fed the hungry. He lifted the poor. He raised their hopes. He helped them realize their dreams. So today we do mourn because we have lost a lot, but we have a lot left, a stable government, an orderly transition. We pray the presence of our great nations will meet soon and find common ground. Father, it may be politically difficult, it is the morally right thing to do. Nothing is too hard for god, and so let us rise. We fall down sometimes, buy our ownerrors, we fall down sometimes. We fall down sometimes, y our own errors. We get up again because the ground is no place for a champion. The ground is no place for champion. The ground is no place for champions. Let there be peace between nations. Amen. [applause] as we begin this ceremony, we would like to thank the presence at the ceremony, Prime Minister of trinidad and tobago, the Prime Minister of curacao, premier of the republic of turkey, vice minister of the republic of vietnam. We would also like to convey greetings to all of the delegation and thank them for being present at this very solemn and important moment for our republic. We would also like to convey greetings to the peoples republic of algeria, the delegation from the russian federation, the delegation from the republic of argentina, the delegation from brazil, the delegation from the republic of cram bee ya, the delegation from grenada, the delegation from the palestinian state, the delegation from the democratic republic of sri lanka, the delegation from the republic of portugal the delegation from franc france, the delegation from the repib blick of lebanon, the delegation from the democratic republic of sy ran a, from canada sr. The democratic republic of sy ran a, from the republic of angola, from the republic of greece, finland, the ukraine, from the republic of croatia, from the kingdom of jordan, from the commonwealth of australia, the kingdom of denmark, the delegation from the republic of serbia, fand the democratic republic of korea, korea, and the republic of south korea, the republic of slovenia, the u. S. Delegation. We would also like to express our appreciation for having International Multilateral organizations who are present today to accompany us as we mourn president hugo chavez. We have the delegation, the o. A. S. , the american summit, aladi, unosur, fao, unicef, and the u. N. D. P. M. We would also like to express our special appreciation to all of the dear friends of commander hugo chavez who came here to bid one final farewell including mr. Sean pe penn. [applause] we will now hear some words from Nicolas Maduro, Vice President of the republic of venezuela. [speaking in native tongue] dear children, grandchildren, brothers, family members of our commander, president , father and guide. Dear heads of state, prime min officers ministers, princesses, from all four corners of the globe who have come here to express with their love and their presence, their full support, and to the glorious people of venezuela, to our commander, hugo chavez. We would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for having come here from your own countries to render this tribute and to reflect on your words of encouragement and comfort that we so, we need so much during this very tragic moment in the 21st century. Dear esteemed leaders, who are here representing social movements, political and social leaders, who are there on the streets with the people, gustovo, who have brought the music to our children and our young people to breath fresh air into the soul. Our dear he is streamed colleagues and friends from the government of president hugo chavez. Our esteemed colleagues in government, here we are seeing him in a way we hope that we would never have to see him. When that pain that is so overwhelming is faced by mankind, and here we are commander, yesterday, someone told us that, that and when we heard these words, we really felt this moment in the full context, and she said, to try to encourage us, remain strong because his soul, his spirit was so strong, that his own body could no longer withstand it, and now he is free, and his spirit is in the universe expanding and filling us with blessings and love, bringing together all of those blessings, of all of the religions, of all societies, and all the love that exist in this yun verse. To bring us together, and we know that that is way we feel, commander, and in our prayers, people say it is time to forgi forgive, and you taught us, you taught us about that infinite love that you need to have in order to forgive during the most trying time. No leader, in the history of our country, has been so maligned, so vilified, and so vially attacked than our own commander, our own president , never in 200 years has so many lice been told about a man, neither here or anywhere else in the world, even bolivar, who was, of course, betrayed, but they never dared to vilify him during his time and even after his time. But they could not do it. The lies and the hatred could not do it because here he is, our commander. Why couldnt they do it . You know why they couldnt, dear esteemed heads of state, who have brought your pure love and shown that to this man beyond political frontiers, because our commander emanated it from within. He had the strongest shield that a human being could ever have. That was the purity, the truth, his shield of purity, the love of christ, the true son of christ that saved him from disgrace and infamy. Here we see him undefeated, transparent, pure, alive, throughout time, for this and all other future periods of ti time. They not match you. You would never be defeated. [applause] we, in our lives, were loyal to him, all of us, all of the great men in venezuela, and we learned that because he taught this to us. We didnt know that. Many of us from the time we were children, we joined the revolutionary ranks and would go through different tests. Some of you in the military, and we have the generation, the generation of the children of the military. I ask that you please rise. Here are your children, commander. Here is the National Bolivarian army, who are here with their swords, with their weapons. An army of peace, our armed forces of freedom fighters. And from the time we were very young, the age of 11 or 12, some of our homes, with our parents, we never, in the path to redeeming our nation, never did we ever know about our history. We never knew that if you truly want to build the legacy left by hugo chavez, the first thing you need to do is recognize that he helped us rediscover our own country. He raised the banners of the liberator, simone bolivar, and he, at the same time, embodied the spirit, and he taught us to love and also forgive, he also taught us to love our history, and that is why, today, we say, the bottom of our hearts, and i 1 00 ask your mother and your daughters, commander, i ask that i, that i just say that he, as an undefeated person, we will continue to forgive those who vilified him, and maligned him, and all of the blame that people tried to throw on you, and in that history, all of our leade leaders, starting with our greatest leaders, simone bolivar, was not allowed to come note it the United Provinces of venezuela, marshal was threatened if he came back into the provinces of greater columbia, our columbia, that is still thriving with the desires to be refounded. They all died in exile because they were betrayed. Some betrayed simone bolivar, who died. We had our commander who sat down with Manuel Santos and extend a hand and say we are going to Work Together, together, and that is how it began, president santos. Thank you very much. Thank you. [applause] his body was left on the ground, and the poor picked up his body and they took his body to kato. He spent 70 years lost. He had this great general, a loyal father, to bring him from his status and took him to the cathedral, wand our brothers, with the president , and the republic of ecuador. Why did it have to be this way . Why was the final hour this way . Why is it that grace leaders who founded this country who walked from the caribbean all the way to the sea, shoeless . Why was there so much treason . Why was there so much selfishness and wickedness because the self interest stood in the way. They were not the supreme interest of the nation, of the people. They were periods of chaos and confusion, and bolivar was not able to consolidate those lands that he liberated. Another great leader, the general of the sovereign nation of redeemer, who raised the banners, betrayed bolivar, and he also died of a gunshot wound on january 10th in 1860, when the, the victorious troops arrived in caracas. This was all taught us to by our teacher, and our father, castro, 100 years ago, at the time, oil had already been discovered in venezuela, and the National Leader like castro,who was ill came out in 1908 and his shift had just barely sailed his ship just barely sailed when the betrayal of the Vice President took place and we had a 30year dictatorship, the worst dictatorship that we have seen in the 20 9 00 century, and the country was looted of its oil. Venezuela was the number one producer of oil in the 1920s. Our country was looted, so commander, once you told us that in the president ial plane, you read this account to commander, fidel castro. The commander and chief of the liberating forces of latin america and the caribbean. And commander fidel castro after having heard you, very attentively, he told you, hugo, what a sad account, i did not know that but you can rest assured that neither you nor i will die that way. When we must depart, we will depart with our people, marching in victory, with the blessing and the love of the righteous and the just. Fidel castros words became reality. Here you are, commander, with your people standing, all of your men and women lack oil as we swore we would be to reject all of your men and women loyal as we swore we would be to you, and you, of president , as head of the bolivarian republic of venezuela, commander of your armed forces, in your land, in your country, under your command, your sole command. We have broken with the curse of the trail against our country, and we will continue to break the curse of defeat. [applause] we have broken that curse. Here we have the sword, pulled out of its sheath, and we have his eyes looking to christ. The last few days, just a few hours before the announcements were made on december 8, some colleagues went to see him, and other colleagues from the struggle, the struggles from the past and also the struggles that are to come. A pure revolutionary, the children of our commander, hugo chavez, and our colleague rafael, they always accompanied him, rosa, maria, all of his brothers. Our comrade jorge, dear friend rosa, and during a very trying morning, i went there to his room. We were together, jorge and i. Jorge has constantly been riding in his notebook been writing in his notebook, and commander asked that we would help them to undertake a task. And he told us i think i am on to have to write a few final words of my testament. And he gave us an order. The last will and testament of hugo chavez. He said, help me with some ideas so i can sit down and prepare this. We never carried out that order. We could not do it. It was impossible. That order had already been carried out, because the life of our commander has been a legacy, his passion, his words, his actions, his efforts, his people. The people of venezuela are his legacy, the port and the humble of this world. Those in despair, those oppressed people from time immemorial, those of us, the grandchildren of the slaves, we are his living legacy. He left his legacy, signed and sealed by the people. And the first one is this. If anybody would like to know something about hugo chavez, truly know about hugo chavez and do away with any misconceptions or lies and read the words written by him, the constitution formally approved by the people, debated by the people, and learn about his words and actions. What we are today is embodied here. This is our guide. If anybody has any questions or doubts, these are the words, the supreme text of the nation, the text of peace. When this constitution was debated, we went out to the streets to debate and there was a referendum held. Some venezuelans came out to vote no, to not approve this constitution. Well, as we have seen in 1999, commander chavez, as we were involved in the constitutional process, he said, be patient. What is just is just, and this text will be recognized by everyone. And today, commander, we assert this is the constitution of everyone, even those who oppose us take it as belonging to them as well. This is our guide, the died of unity, of peace, peaceful coexistence. This is the charter for carrying out a democratic revolution. And if you want to know more about what our undefeated commander thought and dreamed about, as raul castro said yesterday, and defeated, if you want to know the thoughts of and what he thought 21st century venezuela should look like, this is the legacy that he left, that he wrote in june 2012. And the executive Vice President , who worked directly with commander chavez, and he left with us five Historic Tasks. Five Historic Tasks. That reflect the thoughts, the set of values and principles inspired on the ideas of simon bolivar, our founding father, inspired by the wisdom of our liberators and indigenous communities, inspired by christ. If anyone would like to ask, how is a human being when he is the true son of christ, our redeemer, and it devotes his life, his soul and spirit for a society, for a people, for the oppressed, then we have to recognize that you could chavez was an authentic christian, a man of the streets, of the people, a redeemer with christ, a protector with christ of the poor, in this country and every country around the world. So there are five Historic Tasks that are completely consistent and democratic. Because after a democratic discussion, this country of men and women who are free and conscious of their rights, the commander approved this legacy. He never lied in politics, in anything. When he discovered his own path and realized that neil liberal capitalism, it was impossible to stabilize a society, to provide equality and happiness to society and that it was impossible to maintain a truly democratic nation, he said in december 2004, i am going to raise the banner of our socialism, not the indigenous bolivarian, interamerican socialism, we will build that dream of democracy, of socialism, and here he has left that system, that legacy of five main principles. First of all to maintain and consolidate the independents gained over the last 14 years of the Peoples Democratic revolution and the bolivarian revolution. At secondly, to build our socialism, which is the verse, democratic, hemispheric and intraamerican. And the third task is to build a venezuela as a power within the context of the power of latin america that will continue to be built over the next few years. And we see this reflected today with the wide diversity of heads of states that have come to this event, and we need to be one single power. It was here that various president s and heads of states have sat, here with chavez, as a cadet was trained, where 30, 40 years later that cadet would become the president and who would found at the community of latin american and caribbean states, and we now know the president of chile has taken other responsibilities. We want to thank you very much for your words. And we also would like to thank raul castro, who is heading this organization. And our fourth task is to build a balanced world, and balanced universe, without empires. Here we see representatives that we express our greetings to, and we truly appreciate. We have Jesse Jackson and gregory smith, who were sent by president obama. Welcome. We want and admire all of the peoples of the americas, but we want a relationship of true cooperation, respect, on an equal footing. And as commander chavez said, we want a World Without empires, hegemonic nations, a world that respects international law, a world that is capable of coming together to cooperate, to peacefully coexist and be just, on an equal footing. Why is this not possible . Here we have the entire will of the world, the Political Force of a world, and latin america has taken on the Historic Task of creating a new world, to join together in our diversity and say to the rest of the world, this is the latin america of the liberators. Were standing together. This world must change. Commander, a fifth objective that i am going to read, because without this, it would be impossible to ensure the existence of mankind. And this fifth objective, ultimately, is the one that gives consistency to this legacy left to us by commander hugo job best hugo chavez. The fifth objective is very straightforward and we say this humbly and with our concern for mankind. Commander hugo tshamba says as his fifth Historic Task, to contribute to the preservation of human life and the salvation and the preservation of the human species. No capitalism or socialism or any one of our religions is going to continue to survive if we are not able, with dark ideological, political, religious beliefs, to save our planet. We have to put an end to nuclear weapons, put an end to those forces of destruction of pollution of our rivers and seas and global warming. Here is, commander. Your legacy. Several years ago, our president , when there were some very pressing moments, or we would make a mistake, he would always tell us, nicolas, nicolas, rafael, jorge, what are you going to do when i die . And we always said, please dont say that, commander. What are you going to do when i die . How are you going to take care of things . He left it all taken care of. Now it is up to us to take on the challenge or not. We call on our people to take on the challenge. What are we going to do when you depart, commander . You can now rest in peace. Our prayers and our love of christ and our hearts wish you peace, in life and now in death. What are we going to do . We will continue to Work Together as a people, the armed forces with our constitution, with your political legacy, with your example, and through our love. We will continue to protect the poor. We will continue to feed those who are hungry. It will continue to build on the education of our children, continued to build our great nation, continue to build peace, peace, and the peace of our continent, the piece of our people. Commander, Mission Accomplished president , commander, the battle continues chavez lives the struggle continues \ long live hugo chavez long live our people long live unity and love commander, we will continue to triumph, and one word to victory. Next secretary of state john kerry and Michelle Obama honor the women of the women of the courage. It recognizes women around the world in advocating for womens rights. This is 45 minutes. [applause] this is the fifth time ive had the privilege in taking part in this. Every year i look forward to it because it shows us what our most basic challenges look like when they are put to the test. When they witness the disregard for human rights. They spoke up to see that justice was done. When they saw their communities or their countries were ignoring issues like Sexual Violence or womens rights, they gave those issues a face and a voice. With every act of stretchts and defiance, with every blog post, with every community these women have inspired millions to stand with them and find their own voices and Work Together to achieve real and lasting change. That is truly the power of the International Courage award. This is a call for all of us to open our eyes for the injustices around us and to ask ourself what kind of courage we have inside our own hearts. That is the lesson we can learn from the journalists who speaks out against torture and racism. To the poet who takes to twitter to take a stand against december presentation. A mother who depression. That is the spirit we celebrate today. That is the potential that lies within every woman and every girl. The poshe to stand up to demand action and to build a better world for the next generation. That is why we have once again, invited young women from our white house leadership and mentoring initiative to join us today. I would like you to stand because i do like to embarrass you, yes. [applause] they are High School Students from right here in the d. C. Area. The one message to you is truly listen and let these women be your guide. In them, you can see no matter who you are or where you come from, if youre willing to dig deep enough and fight hard enough and believe strongly enough in yourself you can truly change the world. Thats why we want you to be here every year. And the potential absolutely. [applause] and the potential that i see and all the young women across this world that reminds me that the rest of us must work to lift up the women and girls in our own communities because we know that when women and girls rise, their communities and their country rise with them. It is true in honduras, syria, and right here in the united states. We saw that just yesterday when my husband signed the reauthorization of the violence against women act. [applause] so i want to thank everyone who worked so hard to ensure that victims of Domestic Abuse will always know that they will have somewhere to turn and someone on their side, and in the months ahead, in the years ahead, we must all do our part to build upon efforts like that one and learn from the example of the women that we honor today, because if we tackle the injustices and challenges in our lives, with even a fraction of their strength and dedication, then i know that we can meet any challenge that comes our way. 2 if we encourage the young people around us to fight every single day for what they know is right. If we break down any barrier that stands in the way of a young woman getting her education or believing she can achieve her dreams, then i am confident that well finally unlock the promise of our next generation, and then no matter what part of the world we call home, well all be better off. We will all be stronger and freer. We will all be more prepared, not only to solve the problems we face today, but to overcome any obstacle we can imagine in the years and the decades ahead. So thank you. Thank you all for your tremendous contributions to our world, we are so honored and privileged and grateful. God bless you all. [applause] and now its my honor to turn this program over to secretary kerry. [applause] michelle, thank you very, very much for extraordinarily warm, generous words of introduction. I am very proud to be working with the president and with you and all of us here and throughout the country and the world, extraordinarily grateful for the remarkable and inspiring job that you are doing as the first lady of our nation. Thank you for that. It is amazing. [applause] we all talk about passionate 3 advocates for women and girls both in our country and around the world. I think everyone here would agree that at the top of that list, we will find our first lady Michelle Obama and were grateful for her leadership. It is an honor for me today to be on this stage with these remarkable, indeed, extraordinary women, and i want to recognize, if i may, very quickly, another woman of courage, the first lady was kind enough to introduce her but she marched against apartheid as a student in south africa. She worked hard in the decades since to improve the lives of women with respect to the environment and health, and i am delighted to call her my wife. [applause] as you know, i returned less than 48 hours ago from europe and the middle east where i visited the countries that represent a very Broad Spectrum of progress on gender equality, and i met with dozens of leaders, but i also listened to a lot of every day citizens. People who, like todays honorees, know that you dont have to be elected or appointed in order to make a difference. I spoke with one woman in berlin. She is muslim. She told me she is part of an organization of teenagers who have created a dialogue about equality and tolerance, so my friends, steps from the markings, the old markings and brick of the berlin wall. A young muslim woman today 4 proudly stands up with her peers to map a very different and better, more open future. Her activism spoke to me about a special kind of courage. Courage that i saw years ago and when i met her in her home when she was confined in burma or the courage i saw again in four burmese women who were the first people i met right after i had been sworn in as secretary of state. I met in this building on my third day as secretary. Two of them had been political prisoners, and today, all of them are giving back to the very country that had once confined them. It is courage, and it is not just the courage that you see in women in the way that Michelle Obama just described. Courage of people raising kids, certainly women raising them, but also the courage of every man who defends his daughters right to an equal education, or every brother who challenges the law that keeps his sister from owning property, or opening a business, or every husband, who not only promises that the cycle of Domestic Violence can stop with him, but who proves it. I see that courage. I see that hope in every woman on this stage, and you will learn that in a moment. In a testimony of the four honorees who cannot be here today because of the repression and the intimidation that still festers around the world. I see how much work we still have to do and so do you. One of the awardees is in hiding, another is in prison. 5 we present a fourth award for a brave woman whose life was brazenly stolen by brutal violence. Their cause is our cause. Womens issues, as we know, are more than just womens issues. They are family issues. They are economic issues. They are security issues. They are justice issues. They matter to all of us men, as well as women, boys as well as girls, those who live in free countries, as well as those who dont. That is why, including with the work of secretary clinton, and ambassador, the Obama Administration has put advancing the status of women and girls right at the center of americas Foreign Policy. [applause] president obama created the White House Council of women and girls in order to help prioritize of gender and equality in the work of every single agency. Secretary clinton named the first ambassador at large for global womans issues and made protecting the rights of women and girls a signature of her work. One of the first things that i was priveledged and excited to do together with Barbara Boxer was when i was chairman of the Foreign Relations committee, establish a new Sub Committee on global womens issues, from the white house to the state department, to the senate, women and girls across the world have more champions than American Government than ever before, and we can be proud of [applause] that. But still everybody here knows we have to do more. Political stability, excuse me, peace, and prosperity, all require every one of us to do what we can to advance human rights for everyone regardless of their gender and ours. That will remain a fundamental priority of the department of state and the Foreign Policy of the united states. Today i am proud to announce a new effort to that end. We are launching a full Participation Fund to support burrows within the state department and beam sis around the globe that develop innovative ways to be able to achieve gender equality in the work that they do. The fund will supply money for new initiatives or expand projects that are already underway that have proven themselves to be successful. I would like to share with you that before i was born, my mother volunteered as a red cross nurse in europe where she happened to be at the dawn of world war ii. When the natzis invaded france. She fled paris and made her way to portugal and ultimately found her way back home to boston. My mother spent 50 years as a girl scout leader and a Community Activists particularly on the environment. I recently reread a letter she wrote my father during the war, a letter that my siblings and i still cherish. Speaking of the war, she wrote very simply s there something for everyone to do. While International Womans Day reminds us that there is something that each of us can still do to build the progress and build on the progresses that we have made and to protect the health, the education, the welfare, the human rights of women and girls all over this world. We can do more to pursue equality and tolerance like the teenager that i met in berlin, to pursue full Political Representation like the woman i met in burma. To inspire people all over the world just like each of the honorees that are here on this stage here today. There is still something for everyone to do even if you are somewhere that doesnt welcome you in the doing of it. That is why it is called courage. So as son of a woman who reminded me of that sort of neverending responsibility, as a father of two daughters who deserve the same freedom and rights as everybody elses sons, and as the first male secretary to present the International Women of courage award, it is now my honor to introduce you to the nine extraordinary women who refuse to be intimidated or silenced. I would ask the first lady to please join me, if she would, for these presentations. I would ask each of the honorees to join the first lady and stand beside her one at a time as i read the citation. Our first honoree is Second Lieutenant Malalai Bahaduri of 8 afghanistan. [applause] when the taliban fell in 2002, malalai made a lifechanging decision. She left her job as a Telecommunications Operator to take a career in law enforcement. When her uncle finds out, they broke her nose. Undeterred, she was eventually elected as the first female member of the afghan interdiction unit. And to this day, she endures Death Threats and daily discrimination, but she has never let that weaken her resolve. She is already halfway through a Training Program that will allow her to be promoted to an officer and the first woman officer in her elite unit. [applause] so for courageous and dedicated service to Drug Law Enforcement and training in afghanistan shall as the First Sergeant the police in afghanistans National Interdiction unit, we name Malalai Bahaduri a woman of courage. [applause] [cheers and applause] Julieta Castellanos has worked to overcome corruption, Drug Trafficking and one of the highest murder rates in the world. When the country was polarized in the wake of the 2009, julieta helped heal the wounds dividing the honduran people and she made recommendations to help prevent similar crisis from ever happening again. She has organized others outside of government to become a power voice ofsecurity and human rights justice, protections and a powerful voice orf security, and human rights justice, protections, and even when the Honduran National police murdered her son two years ago, julieta refused to turn inward or give up. Instead, she challenged her griefs into a powerful call for action that is delivering meaningful change for the honduran people. For pressing relentlessly to reform, honduran security and Justice Sector institutions, and forging a Civil Society coalition, to advance that goal, we recognize Julieta Castellanos as woman of courage. [applause] [applause] during the past 20 years in nigeria, dr. Josephine obiajulu odumakin has handled more than 2,000 cases of agencies violating womens rights. These cases include everything from negligence to assault and killing as the president of the campaign for democracy, she has personally led almost every protest, march, lecture, and workshop to encourage the rule of law and democracy in nigeria. She has been arrested or detained 17 times but never stopped crusading for the rights of the nigerian people. Her courage, strength and leadership, tirelessly advocating for human rights, social justice and womens equality and advancement in nigeria, dr. Josephine obiajulu odumakin is a woman of courage. [applause] when the asad regime began committing atrocities in syria two years ago. Immediately began documenting the crime on the internet and reporting them to international media. The government accused her of being a Foreign Agent and she was forced into hiding and she did not stop working. Today even though she has been in hiding for 22 months, she is a leading voice in the Syrian Revolution working with the local coordinating committees and the syrian human rights information link to expose violations, her web site is the International Communitys main source of information about the killings and the torture of civilians and Security Forces within syria, so for bringing light, and the human rights abuses carried out by the regime, for continuing to raise awareness of the crisis among International Community and for supporting a free and democratic government for the greater good of the country, regardless of the threats to her own person, she is a woman of courage. [applause] Elena Milashina has built a career investigating Drug Trafficking, terrorism, disasters and the killings of fellow journalist and topics that few others have been willing to for obvious touch for observe reasons. In the face of threats from the government, corporations and even private citizens, elena has continued to expose the truth and to combat negative influences in russian society. She bears the scars of physical and verbal assaults, but also carries the confidence of the many whose lives she has made 11 better through her commitment. So for bold and courageous investigative reporting and for defending human rights in russia and neighboring countries, we recognize Elena Milashina as a woman of courage. [applause] as a former member of the communist party, phong tan became a name for herself. When she started posts articles online that were critical old the government and the legal system. After she was expelled from the party, she started a blog called truth and justice. Becoming one of the first bloggers in vietnam to comment on political news and on events the authorities considered off limits. She helped inspire citizen bloggers and journalists in vietnam, who today are committed to spreading information and alternate opinions to the vietnamese people. She was arrested in 2011, and sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly conducting propaganda against the state. Yet even as state Security Forces were dragging her away from a rigged verdict, she cried out to all who could hear, unjust, unjust, for her dedication to continually demanding the better government for her people, or her willingness to take risk for her beliefs, for her Life Experience and skills as a writer that serve an inspiration to women in vietnam, ta phong tan is a 2013 woman of courage. [applause] tibet has become increasingly identified with protest against the deteriorating human rights condition for chinese tibetan citizens. Against this backdrop, Tsering Woeser has emerged from tibet. Through her web site, called invisible tibet her portrait, her nonfiction work, her use of Communication Networks like twitter,bravely documented the situation she has around her, for her efforts, she is now subject to constant surveillance followed by security agents, and at this moment, is under house arrest. She says that to bear witness is to give voice, and that is what she is doing for the millions of tibetans who can not speak for themselves, and she has vowed to never give up, or compromise, so for courageously striving to improve human rights conditions, for tibetan citizens by illuminating her fight and give stories who might otherwise never be heard, Tsering Woeser is a woman of courage. [applause] obviously, since some of the women cannot be here, we know that will not deter them from continuing their work and therefore it should not deter us from honoring the bravery and sharing their stories today. We proudly do so. Next it is my honor to introduce fartuun adan of somalia. [applause] fartuun worked alongside her husband advocating for peace and education in somalia for years before warlords assassinated her husband in 1996. She fled to canada and she raised her three daughters there as refuges. Fartuun returned home to continue her work for justice and reconciliation in somalia. She started with problems that are far too often absolutely ignored in societies, rape, and other sexual gender based violence like child marriage. She made the first Rape Crisis Center and that has helped more than 400 somalia women get a safe, new start on life and she has reached out to help hundreds of former child soldiers in order for them to be able to reintegrate into Society Offering them an education and job training. Many are now working as teachers, electricians, mechanics and they are filling the good jobs that somalia needs in order to recover from more that than two decades of violence. One person, folks, for champion the right of women and youth in somalia, through posttrauma support provision, skills, training, education and advocacy for never losing hope for a peaceful somalia, we honor fartuun adan as a woman of courage. [applause] finally we hon are a woman known simply as brave, big heart, fearless. This young woman was studying to be a doctor when the boarded a bus in deli last december. For hours, she was brutally gang raped, then tossed away with her friend left naked and bleeding alongside of the road and left to die, but she kept fighting. Over the next two weeks, she became aware of the growing movement that was supporting her and the outrage and indigitation ignited around the world, as she fought for her life, she decided to fight for justice, too. She defied her doctors and the culture of silence giving two detailed accounts of hr attack that the police used to arrest her rapists. Her bravery inspired millions of women and men to come together with a simple message, no more. No more looking the other way when genderbased violence happens. No more stigma against victims or survivors, her fight survives her, for inspiring people to Work Together to end violence against women in india around the world by displaying courage and demanding justice as this inscription reads and the Great Sadness we honor nirbhaya as a woman of courage and honor posthumously. Please stand and join me if you would for moment of silence for nirbhaya. Thank you very much. It is my honor to read part of a statement from nirbhayas mother and father. This is what they wrote. We never imagined that the girl we thought was our daughter would one day be the daughter of the entire world. She was meant to be the daughter of the world, this is a huge achievement in itself. She was always different from other children, other children cry when being sent to school. She was an extraordinary child who would cry when she was not going to school. She was happy girl and even in times of struggle she would stay cheerful. We gave equal treatment to all three children. There was no discrimination for her being a girl. My daughter was made of steel. Once she decided she had to do something, there was no look back. She would work at call centers during nights and study during the day. She would never get enough time to sleep, just about two hours at the most. And despite the odds and our poverty, she always managed to achieve and move ahead. She had just one goal in life, to study and become a doctor. Today our message to the world is do not tolerate any attack on your dignity and honor, do not silently bear ill treatment. Other women would keep silent and hideaway when they were subjected to sexual misconduct. They would not report it to the police or lodge any complaints. They were scared of the stigma. That has changed, the fear is now gone, and while her end was horrendous, her case is impacter strength to all women to fight and to improve the system. Women both in india and the rest of the world refused to be stigmatized and will not keep silent anymore. This incident has opened their minds and empowered them. 16 they are no longer scared of what anyone will say. I would like to invite fartuun adan to speak on behalf of all of those we have honored here today. [applause] thank you very much. I have a speech but i dont think i can read it. I am not going to read it. I am too nervous sitting bow side michelle. Beside with michelle. I am too nervous sitting beside michelle. [laughter] i would never expect this when working in somalia. I never thought someone is going to see the work you are doing in somalia, but that is what happened and i really appreciate it. First lady, i honestly do not know what to say. Thank you. Also, i would like to talk about on behalf of the women, these really shall really fabulous women, and the work we do. It doesnt matter where we live, it is always the same. As a woman, we share one work, we are always quiet. We dont talk. We dont say anything. We just listen whenever someone tells us. I am a mom. I have three girls. I have to be a role model. Not only to them but to all young girls. Not only somalia, but all over the place. We need to speak out. We need to be involved. We need to be a part of this change. I mean decision making. We have in somalia, women who are fighting. We have a government that is strong. Were fight. All these women who are doing amazing job in somalia. They never get encouraged when it comes to the decision making. When it come those decision make, when it comes to anything in their life. Someone has to make a decision for them. That is not right. That is where we stand today. I am so happy, i am nervous. I am so happy to be here. And yesterday, when i saw the signing, president obama signing against violence against the women, it was relief. I knew and i know we can change. We can change. And our program called sister somali which that name it came from because it doesnt matter where we live, we are all sisters. And thats why need support to young generation to become leaders, to change, and not we have a lot of work to do education, health, and basic life. Were talking about human rights and basic life in somalia, and we dont have that. And thats the one of thing we are fighting for, and we want to keep fighting and hopefully one day we will change and the young generation is going to get there. And thank you very much having me here. I am sorry i didnt read my speech because [applause] that was beautiful. [applause] thank you, fartuun, for your remarks on behalf of all of the women here and all of the women everywhere. Fartuun, i have to tell you i have been in mogadishu and met with your president and talked about the role that women are playing in your country. And i have no doubt that with leaders like you, there will be a bright and great future for your children and for their children. I thank you and all of you for everything you do every single day. [applause] i am sure, like all of you in the audience, i am truly humbled by these women. On behalf of mrs. Obama, secretary kerry, and the International Women of courage, thank you for joining us today. It is really all of our privilege to be here. At this time, i kindly ask you to remain seated for a moment while we take a brief photo and allow our guests to exit the stage. Id like to invite you to join us in celebrating these women of courage in the Reception Room upstairs. Thank you very much. If you will stay seated for one moment, we will do this quickly. Then you can all go celebrate. Thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2013] thank you. Thank you so much. [applause] b
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