Monika Hauser (born 24 May 1959 in Thal, Switzerland) is a Swiss-born Italian physician,

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

, and humanitarian. She is the founder of Medica mondiale, an internationally renowned

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and aid organization.Nicholas Watt, Ian Traynor and Maggie O'Kane (14 April 1999)
Serbs have rape camp, says Cook
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Hauser lives and works in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Early life and education

Hauser spent her youth in the Swiss village of Thal,

Saint Gallen St. Gallen is a Swiss city and the capital of the canton of St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 167,000 inhabitants in 2019) and repr ...

, in German-speaking Switzerland, before continuing her medical studies in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, Austria. She completed her doctorate in medicine in Innsbruck and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1984, obtained her German medical licence in 1988 and completed her gynaecological specialization at the Essen University Hospital in 1998.Laureates: Monika Hauser

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob vo ...

Career

At the conclusion of her medical studies, Hauser moved to Cologne, where she began working on behalf of female victims of violence in warzones. To this end, she travelled to

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, Congo,

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, with the organisation Medica mondiale, which she founded. In 1993, she set up the first rape crisis centre in Bosnia. She was photographed with a child in her arms who had been born as a result of a wartime rape. That child was Ajna Jusić, who grew up to become an advocate for others born after rape. She and Hauser were reunited in Sarajevo when Jusić was 25. Jusić was recognised for her work in 2024. After her first years in the field, she suffered a mental breakdown in 1995, from which she only recovered after three months.Julia Rothhaas (31 December 2018)
Die Kriegerin
''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...

''. In 1999, Hauser initiated the project Medica mondiale Kosova, involving numerous project visits to Albania and Kosovo. In 2000, she assumed the operational leadership of Medica Mondiale. In 2017, Hauser joined

Sima Samar Sima Samar (; born 3 February 1957) is a Hazara human rights advocate, activist and medical doctor within national and international forums, who served as Vice President of Afghanistan in the interim Government of Hamid Karzai & Minister for Wo ...

Gino Strada Gino Strada (21 April 1948 – 13 August 2021) was an Italian war surgeon, human rights activist, peace activist, and founder of Emergency, a recognized international non-governmental organization. Early life and education Gino Strada was b ...

, Ran Goldstein, and

Denis Mukwege Denis Mukwege (; born 1 March 1955) is a Congolese humanitarian, gynecologist and Pentecostal pastor. He founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018 ...

in signing an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

published by ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

'', in which they called on incoming Director-General of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

Tedros Adhanom Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (, sometimes spelled ; born 3 March 1965) is an Ethiopian public health official, researcher, diplomat, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization since 2017. He is the first African to become WHO Dire ...

to focus on sexual and gender-based violence.

Recognition

Hauser received the

in 2008 and – together with

Asma Jahangir Asma may refer to: * Asma (given name), list of people with the given name * Asma, Bozdoğan, a village in the district of Bozdoğan, Aydın Province, Turkey * Asma, Socotra, a village and ridge on the island of Socotra, Yemen * Tropical Storm ...

– the North-South Prize of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

in 2012 for her work with female victims of violence in conflict zones. In addition, she is the recipient of the following honors: * 1994 – Gustav Heinemann Prize, awarded by the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

* 2000 – Peter Beier Prize, awarded by the

Evangelical Church in the Rhineland The Protestant Church in the Rhineland (; EKiR) is a United Protestant church body in parts of the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Hesse (Wetzlar). This is actually the area covered by the former Prussi ...

* 2005 – nomination for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

by the organisation

PeaceWomen Across the Globe PeaceWomen Across the Globe (PWAG), previously known as 1000 PeaceWomen, is an organization based in Bern, Switzerland that aims to increase the visibility of women promoting peace all over the world. History The organization began in 2003 under ...

, along with 1000 women * 2011 − '' European of the Year'', voted by the European editors of ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' and presented by

Margot Wallström Margot Elisabeth Wallström (; born 28 September 1954) is a Swedish politician of the Swedish Social Democratic Party who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2019 and Minister for Nordic Coop ...

* 2012 – State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia, awarded by Minister President

Hannelore Kraft Hannelore Kraft (née Külzhammer, 12 June 1961) is a German politician. She served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 until 2017. Kraft was the first woman to serve as head of government of this state and was the thi ...

* 2017 – Honorary doctorate,

University of St. Gallen The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...

* 2017 – Paracelsus Medal, awarded by the

German Medical Association The German Medical Association (GMA) (), founded in 1947 and based in Berlin, is the co-ordinating body of physicians' self-regulation in Germany. It co-ordinates the activities of the 17 State Chambers of Physicians which are responsible for regula ...

* 2019 – Decoration of Honor of the

State of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; ; ) is an Austrian federal state. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical Princely County of Tyrol. It is a constituent part of the present-day Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino (together with South Tyrol and Tre ...

Ehrenzeichen des Landes Tirol für Monika Hauser
''suedtirolnews.it'', 14 February 2019. In 1996, Hauser turned down the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

in protest against the government's policy of forced repatriation of Bosnian refugees.

Personal life

Hauser is married to fellow Medica Mondiale co-founder Klaus-Peter Klauner. The couple has a son and lives in Brühl.

References

External links

Monika Hauser @ 30, THIRTY Project- 30sec. films for each of the Right Livelihood Award Laureates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hauser, Monika 1959 births Living people Swiss gynaecologists Italian gynaecologists Italian emigrants to Germany Swiss emigrants to Germany Anti-globalization activists People from the canton of St. Gallen Physicians from Cologne Sexual abuse victim advocates