Amaya Eva Coppens Zamora (born 1994) is a
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
n
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
student activist. She is a leading figure of the
April 19 University Movement, founded during protests against the government of President
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...
. She was chosen as an
International Woman of Courage in March 2020.
[
]
Life
Coppens was born in Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in 1994. She was the daughter of Belgian sociologist Federico Coppens and Nicaraguan sociologist Tamara Zamora. Amaya Coppens lives and studies in Nicaragua. She completed the IB diploma at Li Po Chun United World College
The Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong (LPCUWC, ), established in 1992, is an International Baccalaureate boarding school in Wu Kai Sha (烏溪沙), Hong Kong, within walking distance of Wu Kai Sha station. It is the eighth member ...
in Hong Kong. She studied medicine at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua at León (UNAN-Leon).
She decides to join the protests against Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...
in 2018. She became one of the leaders of the April 19 University Movement.
She was accused of terrorism and aggravated robbery for having peacefully denounced the abuses of the regime. She was arrested twice, in April 2018 for having participated in demonstrations against the regime of the President, then in November 2019 for having brought aid to women who were supporting imprisoned opponents and who had started a hunger strike.
Recognition
The Spanish newspaper El País
''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
recognised Coppens as the most influential person in South America. At a time of turmoil she was "a moral and political benchmark".
She was chosen as an International Woman of Courage in March 2020 by the United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
.
See also
* Valeska Sandoval
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coppens, Amaya
1994 births
Living people
Activists from Brussels
Nicaraguan activists
Nicaraguan women activists
Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award
2018 Nicaraguan protests
Nicaraguan women
People educated at a United World College