United Europe member Düzen Tekkal is the “Women of Europe 2018“. On the evening of 9th May she was awarded by the European Movement Germany e.V. for her commitment to Yazidi in Northern Iraq and her efforts for more integration and the protection of minorities in Europe.
The television journalist, author and war correspondent is committed to a pluralistic, inclusive and democratic society that fights extremism and protects minorities – and for this reason she deserves the award “Woman of Europe” for 2018.
When in 2014 the Islamic State executed a genocide of northern Iraqi Yazidis, the daughter of Yazidi parents was moved and touched. She filmed the documentary “HÀWAR – My Journey to Genocide”, which shed light on the experiences of the victims.
Tekkal is also the founder and chairwoman of HAWAR.help, a non-profit humanitarian aid organisation. In March 2018 HAWAR.help started the project “Back to Life” in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Development and the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). This empowers women who have been victims of IS imprisonment through craft and literacy programmes.
In addition to her numerous journalistic articles, in 2016 she published the book “Germany is threatened – Why we must defend our values”, in which she pointed to extremist tendencies in society.
In 2010 Tekkal won the Bavarian Television Prize and received the BNK Media Prize in 2013. In 2016 she was awarded the Courage Prize of the Association of Women Journalists and in 2017 the RAMER “Award for Courage in the Defense of Democracy” of the AJC. “Ramer Award for Courage in the Defense of Democracy” of the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
In 2016 she was part of the shadow cabinet of Julia Klöckner (CDU) and in 2017 she was a member of the shadow cabinet of Dr. Bernd Althusmann (CDU).
With the award the European Movement Germany honoures women who, through courageous, creative or persistent voluntary commitment, have made a special contribution to the growing together and consolidation of a united Europe, pointing to extremist tendencies in society, since 25 years. The symbolic prize aims and crosslink with the EBD member organizations and strengthen volunteer structures in civil society civic active Europeans among themselves.
