“In 2014, a young girl was found by the roadside in Congo. She looked 12. She was actually 22. She had been repeatedly raped in a mine, left to die by the roadside. Today, she lives in Congo. She is doing very well, thriving. And all of this is because in 1999, an amazing gynecological doctor decided to work for Congolese women that have been subjected to wartime sexual and gender-based violence by providing them medical treatment as well as psychosocial, socioeconomic, and legal support.”

Watch the speech of Leymah Gbowee, Aurora Prize Selection Committee Member and Founder and President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, at the ‘Tribute to the 2024 Aurora Humanitarians’ session that was held during the Human Rights and Humanitarian Forum on May 9, 2024. At the panel, Mrs. Gbowee introduced 2024 Aurora Humanitarian Denis Mukwege (DRC).