Michelle Obama honours Georgian woman with US Bravery Award

The Bishop of Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, Rusudan Gotsiridze, has been selected by the US as a recipient of the prestigious International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award.

The First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama, honoured Gotsiridze at an awards ceremony in Washington yesterday.

Gotsiridze was chosen alongside nine other activists from Ukraine, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Fiji, Guatemala, India, Mali, Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan.

At the annual awards ceremony, Mrs Obama said winners of the US Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Awards were an inspiration to social activists everywhere.

"When we see these women raise their voices and move their feet and empower others to create change, we need to realise that each of us has that same power and that same obligation," she said at the State Department ceremony.

Gotsiridze has worked for gender equality, the protection of minorities, and women's rights issues.

Gotsiridze also was one of the first religious leaders in Georgia to advocate for the rights of the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

The US Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award began in 2007 to recognize women around the world who showed "exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment".

First Lady Michelle Obama, (back row, center) poses with recipients of the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, Washington, March 4, 2014.