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The Biden administration presented the “International Women of Courage Award” to Alba Rueda, who is a biological man that identifies as a woman.
Nine other biological women also received the honor during a ceremony at the White House. The award is intended for “extraordinary women from around the world who are working to build a brighter future for all.”
Rueda is a transgender activist who is working to advance left-wing policies in Argentina, including the “Transgender Labor Quota Act” which forces public sector jobs in the nation to be staffed by a percentage of people who identify as transgender.
Día Internacional de la Mujer @WhiteHouse🇺🇸
Secretario de Estado @SecBlinken y Primera Dama @FLOTUS entregaron los International Women of Courage Awards.
La Argentina🇦🇷 Alba Rueda, Representante Especial sobre Orientación Sexual e Identidad de Género, una de las reconocidas👏 pic.twitter.com/hqzpjst2dX— Jorge Argüello (@JorArguello) March 8, 2023
Congratulations to Alba Rueda the international Woman of the year! A big thank you to Dr Biden for her brave choice of picking a trans woman for this honor! pic.twitter.com/XnIEohktBI
— Troll Slayer 🇺🇦😷🌈💉🌊🌻🌎 (@TrollSlayer86) March 9, 2023
Rueda is Argentina’s Special Envoy for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and the country’s first trans-identifying politician to hold a senior governmental position.
Hoy se anunciaron las galardonadas con el Premio Internacional a las Mujeres de Coraje 2023. ¡Estoy tan orgulloso de que una argentina, Alba Rueda, sea reconocida por el Presidente Biden, el Sec. Blinken y el mundo entero como Mujer de Coraje! ¡Felicitaciones Alba! ¡Qué honor! pic.twitter.com/YkZPmvIeYX
— Embajador Marc R. Stanley (@USAmbassadorARG) March 6, 2023
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Rueda also served as Argentina’s undersecretary for diversity policies in the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity as well as founded the group Argentina Trans Women.
The diplomat has also campaigned to change the name of the National Women’s Conference to the “Plurinational Conference of Women and Lesbian, Cross-Dresser, Transgender, Bisexual, Intersex and Non-Binary Persons.”
According to the State Department, Rueda hopes to “establish an LGBTQI+ foreign policy agenda and mainstream it into the various negotiation fora, including into multilateral fora and bilateral relations as well as represent the Global South.”
Other awardees included Ethiopian journalist Meaza Mohammed, Jordan-based human rights activist Hadeel Abdel Aziz, and civil society activist Bakhytzhan Toregozhina. The State Department added that the “awardees will participate in an in-person International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) exchange to connect with American counterparts in cities across the United States and strengthen their global networks of women leaders.”
