The Anne Klein Women’s Award 2025 to Darya Afanasyeva, Irina Alkhovka and Julia Mickiewicz from Belarus
The Anne Klein Women’s Award 2025
honours Darya Afanasieva, Irina Alkhovka and Julia Mickiewicz from Belarus
Berlin, 10 December 2024
The 2025 Anne Klein Women’s Award goes to the Belarusian feminists and women’s rights activists Darya Afanasieva, Irina Alkhovka and Julia Mickiewicz. All three, the women’s and human rights activist Irina Alkhovka, the feminist blogger Darya Afanasieva and the feminist activist and politician Julia Mickiewicz, are victims of officially sanctioned persecution and repression, which has forced them into exile in Europe from where they are continuing their gender democratic activism.
Chairwoman of the jury and Co-President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Dr. Imme Scholz, explained the jury’s decision in favour of the three activists as follows: “Their feminist activism and their determination and resilience in the face of brutal persecution and violence by the government are exemplary for what women experience in their fight against autocratic regimes.”
According to the jury, Darya Afanasyeva, Irina Alkhovka and Julia Mickiewicz, with their different types of political activism, stand for and sum up several generations of women’s political commitment. They are making use of digital activism and platforms; they are setting up safe spaces for women affected by violence; and they are campaigning for women’s political participation and their right to be heard. They are thus following in the footsteps of our award’s namesake, Anne Klein, while, at the same time, developing new forms.
These three women from Belarus exemplify the spirit of the civic activism surrounding the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus. In the summer of 2020, after Lukashenko had rigged the elections, it was women who lead the rallies for freedom and democracy. Almost a million people participated in Belarus, a country with a population of nine million.
In January 2025, the Belarusian regime will again orchestrate a presidential election. With its decision, the jury of the Anne Klein Women’s Award wants to send a signal, show its solidarity with the persecuted freedom fighters from Belarus and emphasise how greatly it respects the three women’s persistent activism.
The Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Anne Klein Women’s Award honours women who champion human rights, equal rights and sexual self-determination with courage and perseverance. It carries a € 10,000 prize. The award will be presented at a ceremony in Berlin on the evening of 7 March 2025. The jury’s statement, as well as brief biographies and photos of the awardees are available for download: www.boell.de/en/anne-klein-womens-award
Contact
Ulrike Cichon
E-Mail cichon@boell.de
Phone +30-285 34-112