Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security presents Nadia Murad with the Hillary Clinton Award.
On 26 September 2018, Nadia Murad received the Hillary Clinton Award for Advancing Women in Peace and Security from Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security. The award recognizes leaders who have made exceptional contributions to women’s participation and protection in conflict settings.
Murad’s selection highlighted her role in reframing conflict‑related sexual violence as a central peace and security issue rather than a peripheral humanitarian concern. Drawing on her own experience of enslavement by ISIS, she advocated for survivor‑centered justice mechanisms, the recognition of sexual violence as an instrument of genocide, and the inclusion of survivors in peacebuilding and policy discussions.
The award ceremony, hosted at a major U.S. academic institution with a specialized women, peace, and security program, connected Murad’s activism to evolving international norms such as UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace, and security. It helped embed her testimony within academic, diplomatic, and policy debates, influencing how future leaders are trained to address gender‑based violence in conflict.
For women’s history, this recognition underscored the emergence of survivor‑advocates as authoritative voices in shaping global security agendas and reinforced the principle that durable peace requires addressing the gendered harms of war.