This marks the first time that the Martin Ennals Award, also known as Nobel Prize for human rights, jury has presented three women finalists to be in the running for the prestigious award.

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — A Yemeni lawyer who exposed secret prisons and torture, a Mexican champion fighting femicide and a South African women’s rights activist were nominated Tuesday for a top human rights prize.

This marks the first time that the Martin Ennals Award jury has presented three women finalists to be in the running for the prestigious award.

The winner will be announced in Geneva on 19 February 2020.

Among the finalists for the award — often referred to as the Nobel Prize for human rights — is 42-year-old Yemeni lawyer Huda Al-Sarari, who has worked with a range of rights organizations to expose a network of secret prisons run by foreign governments in Yemen since 2015.

That year, the Saudis intervened in Yemen at the head of a military coalition against Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who had seized control of the capital Sanaa.

Since then, tens of thousands have died in the conflict, most of them civilians, and millions more have been driven to the brink of famine, according to humanitarian organizations.

Al-Sarari has in recent years unveiled the existence of several secret detention centers where “the worst violations of human rights were committed: torture, disappearances or even extrajudicial executions,” the award organizers said in a statement.

She “collected evidence on more than 250 cases of abuse taking place within the prisons and succeeded in convincing international organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to take up the cause,” they said.

The lawyer was hailed for pushing on with her pursuit of justice despite threats and defamation campaigns against her and her family.

Another finalist is Norma Ledezma, a 53-year-old Mexican human rights activist who began working to fight femicide and support the families of victims after her daughter, Paloma, disappeared on her way home from school in Chihuahua.