Laurinda Manuel Gouveia
The annual Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk was established in 2005 to honour the work of HRDs who are courageously making outstanding contributions to the promotion and protection of the human rights of others, often at great personal risk to themselves.
Laurinda Manuel Gouveia is an Angolan woman human rights defender, originally from Gabela, who has been actively promoting women's rights, fundamental freedoms, participatory democracy and social justice since 2011. She currently leads a justice and accountability campaign for victims of police violence. Additionally, she works as an independent human rights consultant. As co-founder of several feminist and civic initiatives, she has promoted a greater understanding of human rights, community organisation and civic participation among women and young leaders.
As a result of her peaceful defense of human rights, she has been arrested and mistreated on several occasions, including during a demonstration in 2014 and in connection with the Processo 15+2 in 2015. In 2024, she was further arrested, together with her baby and husband, while leading a campaign advocating for the release of political prisoners in Angola.
