KABUL - The Afghan Presidential Palace on Wednesday awarded ten women activists with the Medal of Malalai for their courageous fight for women's rights.

Minister of Women's Affairs, Dilbar Nazari, presented the medals to the recipients on behalf of President Ashraf Ghani during a special ceremony to mark the occasion of Afghanistan's 96th Independence Anniversary in Kabul.

In her address to the participants, Nazari praised Ghani's Office for appreciating women's efforts.

TOLOnews journalist Shakeela Ibrahimkhail; Nobel Peace Prize nominee Suraya Parlika; Women's Council Head Fatana Gailani; Afghan Women Network's director Hasina Safi; Feminine Solidarity For Justice Organization (FSJO) director Liah Jawad Ghazanfar; former deputy minister of women's affairs Fawzia Habibi; Faryab provincial women's affairs director Sharifa Azimi; Nangarhar women's affairs director Anisa Imrani; Herat women's affairs director Mahboba Jamshedi; and Dai Kundi women's affairs director Zakia Rezai all received the medals.

"The medal that I received today is the medal of Malalai - who is a well-known national hero of Afghanistan. I am proud of getting this medal," said Parlika, who is one of the 1000 Women for Peace members.

Meanwhile, Ibrahimkhail said the Afghan women who recently lost their loved ones in the recent spate of Kabul attacks deserved this medal.

According to women's rights activists, such appreciation by government motivates them to carry on the fight for their rights.

Malalai was born in Maiwand district in southern Kandahar in 1861. She is an Afghan national hero who fought the British troops at the battle of Maiwand on 27 July, 1880 during the second Anglo-Afghan War. (Tolonews)