On Thursday (28), Mozambican Júlia Wachave received the US Embassy's 2024 Woman of Courage Award for the work she has been doing to protect and advocate for the rights of women and girls in Cabo Delgado.

As leader of the Association for the Protection of Women and Girls, "Júlia Wachave was at the forefront of providing assistance to internally displaced women in the northern districts of Cabo Delgado," reads a statement from the US embassy, quoted by VOA.

Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique has been the target of an insurgency by a group associated with Islamic State since 2017, which has displaced around a million people and killed thousands.

At the award ceremony, US ambassador Peter Vrooman highlighted the work of Júlia Wachave, saying that "courageously, she overcame serious threats to her life (...) by promoting and protecting the human rights of hundreds of thousands of women and girls in Cabo Delgado".

For Vrooman, Julia Wachave's dedication "has helped create a safer and more hopeful future for some of the world's most vulnerable populations."

"First of all, I would like to share this award with my mother, who is here. I've been working in Cabo Delgado for more than 14 years, and during these years we've been following harsh realities," said Wachave on accepting the award.

She, who has been a human rights defender for over 20 years, said that "every woman who comes into this world comes to fulfill her dreams with her rights. So we can't take away a woman's dream!"