01/10/2024 Women@PACE
Addressing the Women@PACE group on the 1st October – the first day of Pink October – Evgenia Kara-Murza paid tribute to leading female figures among human rights defenders or journalists fighting different battles in different countries, but all for the same values of “peace, freedom and human dignity”.
“None of these women sought the challenge, but in the face of evil, they chose to make a stand, to become part of the solution, and turned into inspiring leaders and true warriors” she emphasised. “It is from all of them that I take my daily strength and inspiration,” she said.
Ms Kara-Murza, Advocacy Director for the Free Russia Foundation, joined her husband Vladimir in his pro-democracy and human rights fight, then campaigned for his release since his imprisonment in 2022, advocating for justice, until his release in a prisoner exchange on 1 August 2024.
The meeting, which was opened by PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis and Elena Bonetti (Italy, ALDE), member of the Women@PACE group, brought together female parliamentarians, ambassadors, and staff members for an exchange of views.
