President Joe Biden’s administration honored a biological male with an International Woman of Courage Award on Wednesday as part of the White House’s Women’s History Month celebration.
Alba Rueda is a man who identifies as a woman and is one of 11 “extraordinary women” Biden’s administration honored at an awards ceremony.
First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted this year’s International Women of Courage Awards ceremony. The ceremony honors “extraordinary women from around the world who are working to build a brighter future for all,” according to the State Department.
Rueda is a prominent transgender activist from Argentina and serves as the country’s Special Envoy for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship.
U.S. First Lady Jill Biden (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) pose with Alba Rueda (C), during the 17th annual International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 8, 2023. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty)
Rueda is reportedly responsible for getting Argentina’s Transgender Labor Quota Act enacted into law, which requires one percent of public sector jobs in the country to be reserved for transgender individuals.
Rueda has 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,” according to the State Department.
“In Argentina, Alba Rueda is a transgender woman who was kicked out of classrooms, barred from sitting for exams, refused job opportunities, subjected to violence, and rejected by her family,” Biden’s Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said as Rueda received the award. “But in the face of these challenges she worked to end violence and discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community in Argentina.”
Biden has elevated multiple transgender individuals to high-level positions within his administration, including Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary Rachel Levine.
Alba Rueda (left), Undersecretary for Diversity Policies of the Ministry of Women, Genders, and Diversity Transgender speaks in the agreement signing on August 5, 2020, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. National Bank of the Argentine Republic authorities signed an agreement with the Banking Labor Union that allows a one percent employment quota to incorporate transvestites, transsexuals, and transgender people minimum. (Ricardo Ceppi/Getty)
Some other awardees included Jordan-based human rights activist Hadeel Abdel Aziz, civil society activist Bakhytzhan Toregozhina, and Ethiopian journalist Meaza Mohammed.
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,” the State Department announced.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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