In the midst of lockdown, when growing authoritarianism threatens to silence the voices of truth and justice, meet the women who risk their lives to speak the truth and refuse to be silenced, despite grave danger.

This WOW UK Festival event brings together international women of courage who stand for human rights and justice in war and conflict zones and are winners of the prestigious Anna Politkovskaya Award, presented by RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in War). With BSL interpretation and digital captioning.

Our speakers shine a spotlight on abuses, exacerbated by the pandemic, committed against women and girls in conflict areas, and the price of speaking truth to power. The event also sees the presentation of the 2020 Anna Politkovskaya Award to courageous human rights activist, Radhya Almutawakel from Yemen.

Six years into the Saudi-led coalition’s war against the Houthi rebels, the UN has called Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Despite constant threats on her life, Radhya has established and bravely led the efforts to investigate and document the war crimes against civilians committed by all sides of the war in Yemen. For her work and her bravery Radhya was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2019.

This year’s award is presented by the 2018 winner of the award and 2015 Nobel Prize in literature laureate, Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, a leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition. Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, 2019 award winner, who recently reported from the war in Yemen, and Elena Kudimova, Anna Politkovskaya’s sister, will join in presenting the award. Mariana Katzarova, Founder of RAW in WAR, will lead the session.

Speakers include Radhya Almutawakel joining us from Yemen; Alex Crawford, Sky News Special Correspondent and 2019 Award winner and Gulalai Ismail, a threatened women’s rights and peace activist from Pakistan and 2017 Award winner.

The Anna Politkovskaya Award is presented annually by RAW in WAR, in memory of murdered Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, to brave women working in conflict zones who stand up for the victims, at great personal risk.

In partnership with RAW in WAR.

If you'd like to submit any questions for this event, please email them to hello@thewowfoundation.com with the event title in the subject line.

This event features a performance by a WOW Sounds artist. Don't miss an incredible performance from Tunisian singer-songwriter Emel Mathlouthi, whose protest song Kelmti Horra became the anthem during the 2011 Tunisian Revolution and Arab Spring;

This event is part of WOW UK Festival 2021, our three week digital programme of groundbreaking In Conversations and interactive workshops. For this year’s festival, we are offering audiences the chance to pay what they can for tickets from £1 upwards. If you’re able to pay a higher ticket price, your contribution will include a donation to help WOW continue its work fighting for gender equality all year-round.

If you want to book to watch all the In Conversations, you can book a WOW UK 2021 Festival Talks Pass for just £25 (or £100 if you'd like to support WOW's work year-round). And don't forget, you have seven days to watch all events on demand.