Perdita Constance Huston (May 2, 1936 – December 4, 2001) was an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

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 ...

activist. She is commemorated by the international Perdita Huston Human Rights Award. Born in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, Huston studied in France and later worked in Africa. She was director of public affairs for

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

magazine in French-speaking countries, and in 1978 became a Regional Director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

. Her first book "Message from the Village" was also published in 1978. She later worked for the World Conservation Union (

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

) in Switzerland and at the International Planned Parenthood Federation ( IPPF) in London and acted as consultant with

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

UNIFEM The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, , ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder. U ...

UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, increasing access to birth control, and leadin ...

and

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

. From 1997, she returned to work for the Peace Corps as a Country Director in Mali and then Bulgaria. The Perdita Huston Human Rights Award''Perdita Huston award for Prajwala founder'', The Hindu, May 17, 2006 accessed a

Oct 20, 2006 is supported by the

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

chapter of the

United Nations Association of the United States of America The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) is the official United Nations Association of the United States, a nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to promoting political and public support for the United Natio ...

. The awardees include 2003 -

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 ...

2004 - Madame Fatumata Traore 2005 - Ms. Ranjana Gaur 2006 -

Sunitha Krishnan Sunitha Krishnan (born 1972) is an Indian social activist and chief functionary and co-founder of Prajwala, a non-governmental organization that rescues, rehabilitates and reintegrates sex-trafficked victims into society. She was awarded India' ...

2007 - Zipporah Sein, Bishnu Pariyar, and Samar Minallah 2011-

Zainab Salbi Zainab Salbi (; born 1969) is an Iraqi American women's rights activist, writer, television show host, and podcaster. She is the co-founder of Daughters for Earth, a fund and a movement of Daughters rising up worldwide with climate solutions ...

Books

* ''Message from the Village'', Epoch B Foundation, 1978 * ''Third World Women Speak Out'', Praeger Publishers, 1979 ASIN B000GWIA8Q * ''The Right to Choose'', Earthscan Publications, 1992 * ''Motherhood by Choice: Pioneers in Women's Health and Family Planning'', The Feminist Press 1992 * ''Families As We Are'', The Feminist Press, 2001 - see als

Notes

External links

Archived papers, Maine Women Writers Collection, University of New England
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huston, Perdita 1936 births 2001 deaths American women journalists American women's rights activists 20th-century American women 20th-century American journalists 20th-century women journalists Writers from Portland, Maine Journalists from Maine

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