Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted the 3rd annual International Women of Courage Awards ceremony on March 11, 2009 with guest speaker First Lady Michelle Obama in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department. Full Text» Video»

The 2009 International Women of Courage awardees are:

		Hadizatou Mani Niger “No woman should suffer the way I did.”
		Ambiga Sreenevasan Malaysia “Gender equality is a responsibility of all Malaysians.”
		Veronika Marchenko Russia “We are ready for a long fight in order to make the law prevail.”
		Reem Al Numery Yemen “I thought of ways to set fire to my wedding dress.”
		Suaad Abbas Salman Allami Iraq “A strong and credible advocate…to ensure equality is not only talked about but practiced and upheld.”
		Mutabar Tadjibayeva Uzbekistan “They can break my body, but they can never break my spirit.”
		Wazhma Frogh Afghanistan “My goal is to really represent Islam. It’s not a religion that oppresses women.”
		Norma Cruz Guatemala “We’re not going to allow one more woman to die.”