Today, 7th October, we remember Anna Politkovskaya and all that she stood for. While five men were found guilty of carrying out the contract hit on Anna in the entrance hall of her Moscow apartment 11 years ago today, those who ordered the killing have never been identified and brought to justice.
In honour of Anna, RAW in WAR presented the 2017 Anna Politkovskaya Award to two remarkably brave women – GULALAI ISMAIL (PAKISTAN) and GAURI LANKESH (INDIA) for their courage to speak out and to defy extremism and violence, for which they suffered death threats. Gauri paid for it with her life.
Gulalai opposes Islamic extremism in Pakistan and Gauri the Hindu extremism in India. On 5th September 2017, Gauri was murdered when entering her home, in an attempt to silence her voice.
Today we remember Anna and celebrate her life by amplifying the voices of brave women like Gulalai, Gauri and Jamalida, who are refusing to be silenced, who are risking their lives to speak the truth and to give a voice to the voiceless, just like Anna did.