#femalechangemaker: Nicaragua

There are more than 200 political prisoners in Nicaragua, among them, presidential candidates of the opposition, civil society leaders, human rights defenders, private sector personalities, priests and bishops. The situation is extremely critical as the liberties of the civilian population are under attack. Human rights organisations do not exist anymore in Nicaragua and the International Red Cross has no access to prisons.
Berta Valle is a Nicaraguan journalist, human rights activist, and vocal critic of the Ortega regime. She is married to pro-democracy activist, presidential candidate, and former OFF speaker, Félix Maradiaga, who was imprisoned by Ortega’s regime in June 2021 in an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition in Nicaragua. Berta is currently in exile and campaigning to bring international attention to the regime’s abuses, including the unjust imprisonment of her husband and more than 140 political prisoners in the country.
We will discuss together with German expert and Head of the office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Central America, Elisabeth Maigler Kluesserath, about Barta Valle‘s aim of spreading awareness on the situation in the country and gaining support from the international community.

In our #femalechangemaker event series moderator Karoline Gil speaks to women from all around the world, who are fighting for more democratic and free societies and are changing them in meaninful ways.

With this event series, sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom is helping to raise awareness of the goals of the 2030 Agenda adopted by the United Nations in 2015, particularly in the area of human rights and the rule of law.