President Obama presents the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to the 2009 winners Magadonga Mahlangu and her organization Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on November 23. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was established 24 years ago to shine a bright light on injustice and those who are fighting it. Obama spoke of how the award is based on Robert ("Bobby") Kennedy's "belief that in this world, there is right and there is wrong and it is our job to build our laws and our lives around recognizing the difference. " Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) began operating in 2003 and is dedicated to empowering women to speak out on issues that impact their families and their country such as hunger, public health, rape, domestic violence and poverty. "WOZA's guiding principle is tough love. The idea that political leaders in Zimbabwe could use a little discipline. And who better to provide that than the nation's mothers," Obama said. Over the past 7 years, WOZA has staged more than 100 protests. They have been gassed, abducted, threatened with guns and badly beaten but continue their work. Magadonga Mahlangu has been arrested 30 times and jailed numerous times. She has been beaten badly by police yet she continues to fight. "When asked how they can endure so much violence and what keeps them going in the face of such overwhelming odds, the women of WOZA reply simply, 'each other.' That may be Magadonga's greatest achievement. She has given the women of Zimbabwe each other...She's given them a voice they can only have collectively said Obama." "By her example Magadonga has shown the women of WOZA and the people of Zimbabwe that they can undermine their oppressors power with their own power. They can zap a dictators strength with their own."