M Indira Gandhi was selected for the International Women of Courage award even before the conclusion of her highly publicised court battle, according to US ambassador to Malaysia Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir.

The US Department of State award was presented to Indira earlier today in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2018 and Women’s History Month celebrations in the US, at the residence of the ambassador in Kuala Lumpur.

“We unanimously agreed that Indira was the person we wanted nominated, for her struggle for over eight years, in courts and in Parliament, to achieve justice for herself and her family, and to bring her daughter home.

“We nominated her for this award before the court decision. We wanted to recognise her for her struggle, and that her struggle goes beyond her own family to all Malaysians.

“We also wanted to have Malaysia recognise what was in the constitution, that there cannot be unilateral conversion of minors without both parents’ agreement,” Lakhdhir told reporters at the ceremony.

In January, Indira won a long court battle against her ex-husband, Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah, when the Federal Court made a landmark decision to end unilateral religious conversions of minors.

“When I started this case, I wasn’t expecting anything at all. I wanted justice for my children.

“It took almost 10 years and eventually we did win. This wasn’t easy at all.

“But when I was told I was nominated for this award it was unimaginable,” Indira said before receiving the award.

Indira’s ex-husband - formerly known as Pathmanathan Krishnan - had converted himself and the couple’s three children to Islam in March 2009 and took their youngest daughter Prasana Diksa away with him.

The court battle soon ensued, which involved Ridhuan and Indira each obtaining conflicting child custody awards from the civil court and the syariah court.

Despite the Federal Court eventually nullifying the three children’s conversion certificates, Indira has yet to be reunited with her youngest child Prasana. Ridhuan remains at large.

According to its official website, the US Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award has been awarded annually since 2007, and is given to up to 10 women a year.

The award honours “women around the globe who have exemplified exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women’s equality, and social progress, often at great personal risk.”

Malaysians who have won the award in the past include former Bar Council chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan in 2009, for championing the rule of law, and transgender rights advocate Nisha Ayub seven years later.

The late Tenaganita chairperson and human rights activist Irene Fernandez was nominated for the award in 2013, but did not win.

Read Malaysiakini’s interview with Indira here.