On April 20, German Kurdish author and human rights activist Duzen Tekkal received the 2024 Theodor Heuss Prize for her commitment to freedom, democracy, and the rights of minorities.
The award is named after West Germany’s first Federal President Theodor Heuss (1884-1963) and has been awarded since 1965. Last year, Russian opposition activist and author Leonid Volkov won the award.
The Theodor Heuss Foundation announced in January that Tekkal’s work is characterized by a tireless commitment to freedom, democracy, and the rights of minorities. “She openly takes a stand against racism, right-wing extremism, and anti-Semitism,” the jury said.
Es ist mir eine besondere Ehre, im Beisein meiner Eltern den 59. Theodor-Heuss-Preis 2024 für meine Arbeit für #Freiheit, #Demokratie und die Rechte von #Minderheiten entgegen zu nehmen! Ich danke der Theodor @heuss_stiftung von ganzem Herzen für die Ehrung! ♥️ pic.twitter.com/dUIcJvvoiT
— Düzen Tekkal (@DuezenTekkal) April 20, 2024
In a post on X, Tekkal wrote that it was a special honor to accept the 59th Theodor Heuss Prize in the presence of her parents for her work for “freedom, democracy and the rights of minorities.”
45-year-old Tekkal is the daughter of Yezidi Kurdish immigrants from Northern Kurdistan (southeastern Turkey). She became famous in Germany after making a documentary about the Yezidi genocide conducted by ISIS in 2014 and has been outspoken in Germany about the Kurdish issue.
She also founded an association called Hawar.help, which runs the Back To Life Women’s Empowerment Center in the Kurdistan Region.
Tekkal has received many awards in Germany, including the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2021 and the Order of Merit of Berlin in 2023, for her contributions to German society.
