Barrister Sara Hossain among 14 women across the world will be honoured in USA for their outstanding courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will present the 2016 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award to them at the US Department of State on Tuesday.

Sara Hossain, daughter of jurist Dr Kamal Hossain, is barrister in the Supreme Court of the country and the Honorary Executive Director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust.

The other awardees are Debra Baptist-Estrada, Port Commander, Belize Immigration and Nationality, Belize, Ni Yulan, Human Rights Activist, China, Latifa Ibn Ziaten, Interfaith Activist, France, Thelma Aldana, Attorney General, Guatemala, Nagham Nawzat, Yezidi Activist and Gynecologist, Iraq, Nisha Ayub, Transgender Rights Advocate, Malaysia, Fatimata M’baye, Co-founder and President of the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights, Mauritania, Zhanna Nemtsova, Journalist and Activist, Russia, Zuzana Števulová, Director of the Human Rights League, Slovakia, Awadeya Mahmoud, Founder and Chair of the Women’s Food and Tea Sellers’ Cooperative and the Women’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative for Khartoum State, Sudan, Vicky Ntetema, Executive Director of Under the Same Sun, Tanzania, Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit, Bookstore Owner and Co-founder of Creating Awareness for Enhanced Democracy, Thailand and Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi, Minister of Legal Affairs, Yemen.