Banned from travel, Egyptian activist receives ‘alternative Nobel Prize’ in Cairo

Founder and director of Nazra for Feminism Studies Mozn Hassan has been awarded the Right Livelihood Award – dubbed the alternative Nobel Prize – for her work advocating the equality and rights of women who are subjected to violence, abuse and discrimination and lobbying the Egyptian government for equal rights.

Along with other Egyptian human rights defenders Hassan’s assets have been frozen and she has been banned from travelling by the Egyptian authorities due to a 2011 case that accused NGOs of receiving foreign funding. Hassan could not travel to Stockholm, Sweden, to receive the award so instead, The Right Livelihood Foundation held the ceremony in Cairo.

During her speech, Hassan said that she believes independent civil society in Egypt is under threat but that she has faith that the new generation will pursue freedom.

A number of feminists, human rights defenders and politicians were present at the ceremony including member of the EU parliament Lynn Boylan and members of the Swedish parliament Lotta Johansson Fornarve and Cecilia Magnusson, who condemned the sanctions against Nazra.