Sandra Day O’Connor Institute presents Nadia Murad with the Justice O’Connor Award for her global human-rights advocacy.
On 18 September 2020, the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy honored Nadia Murad with the Justice O’Connor Award. The award recognizes individuals whose work reflects the values of the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, particularly in promoting the rule of law, human rights, and civic engagement.
Murad received the award for her global human‑rights advocacy and her efforts to end sexual violence as a weapon of war. Her campaign for accountability for ISIS’s crimes, and for recognition of the Yazidi genocide, resonated with the Institute’s focus on the importance of legal institutions and democratic values in protecting vulnerable communities.
This recognition was historically notable because it linked Murad’s survivor‑led activism to a legacy of women’s leadership in law and justice. Honoring a Yazidi woman in the name of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor highlighted the increasingly transnational scope of women’s struggles for legal equality and human rights.
For women’s history, the award underscores the convergence of judicial, civic, and survivor‑advocacy traditions, showing how women from vastly different legal and cultural contexts contribute to a shared project of strengthening the rule of law and accountability for gendered violence.