First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented a biological male who is transgender an award created for women, during a ceremony recognizing International Women’s Day, which was March 8.
The annual International Women of Courage Awards ceremony at the White House recognized “11 extraordinary women from around the world who are working to build a brighter future for all,” according to the State Department’s press release.
Among those recognized was Alba Rueda, Argentina’s current special envoy for sexual orientation and gender identity in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship.
Rueda, who was born male, was the first Argentine undersecretary for diversity policies in the newly created Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity.
“Ms. Rueda was the driving force behind Argentina’s executive order on the transgender labor quota in the public sector which was converted into the Transgender Labor Quota Act,” the State Department wrote, applauding transgender quotas in the workplace.
“She previously worked in the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in their National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) as well as the Argentine Secretariat for Human Rights. She is one of the founders of Argentina Trans Women (MTA) and actively engages with Notitrans, the first transgender magazine in Argentina.
“She actively campaigned to change the name of the National Women’s Conference to the ‘Plurinational Conference of Women and Lesbian, Cross-Dresser, Transgender, Bisexual, Intersex and Non-Binary Persons’ to include diverse, dissident, and racialized identities,” said the State Department.
“Her activism led her to fight for the Marriage Equality Act, the Gender Identity Act, and the Diana Sacayán and Lohana Berkins Act on the Promotion of Access to Formal Employment by Cross-Dresser, Transsexual and Transgender Persons. Her hope is to establish an LGBTQI+ foreign policy agenda and mainstream it into the various negotiation fora, including into multilateral fora and bilateral relations as well as represent the Global South,” the description said.
Rueda was described by the emcee of the ceremony as a “transgender woman who was kicked out of classrooms, barred for sitting for exams, refused job opportunities, subjected to violence, and rejected by her family. But in the face of these challenges, she worked to end violence and discrimination against the LGBTQ plus community in Argentina.”
Others recognized for the award this year were women such as Professor Danièle Darlan, who is the former president of the Central African Republic’s Constitutional Court and who is her country’s most influential female public figure; Doris Ríos, an indigenous leader from Costa Rica working to improve indigenous lives; Meaza Mohammed, a veteran Ethiopian journalist, is the founder of Roha TV, an independent YouTube-based news and information channel; and Hadeel Abdel Aziz, a defender of Jordan’s most marginalized, including juveniles, refugees, migrants, and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence; and other women.
“Now in its 17th year, the Secretary of State’s IWOC Award recognizes women from around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, and the empowerment of women and girls, in all their diversity – often at great personal risk and sacrifice. Since March 2007, the Department of State has recognized more than 180 women from more than 80 countries with the IWOC Award. U.S. diplomatic missions overseas nominate one woman of courage from their respective host countries and finalists are selected and approved by senior Department officials. Following the IWOC ceremony, the awardees will participate in an in-person International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) exchange to connect with American counterparts in cities across the United States and strengthen their global networks of women leaders,” the State Department said.
