Lauren Zumbach – Anis Hidayah, executive director of Migrant Care, was one of seven people around the globe awarded the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism, Human Rights Watch said in a statement today.

Both the Jakarta-based Migrant Care and Human Rights Watch – the grantee of the award – have documented the plight of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where many work without pay or face abuse from their employers.

In addition to advocacy efforts at the Asean secretariat, Anis and Migrant Care have been prominent voices in the recent outcry over the treatment of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia and the government's response, Human Rights Watch said.

The group praised Anis's commitment to speaking out on behalf of the millions of Indonesians working abroad and exposing violations of their basic rights.

"From the centers of the Arab Spring to many other places where people who speak out are under threat, each of these defenders has shown incredible courage and persistence on behalf of others," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

"We honor their strength and efforts, and hope that this award will increase international recognition of the abusive conditions they are trying to change."

Anis will receive the award, named for a senior adviser to Human Rights Watch's Africa Division who was a leading expert on the Rwandan genocide, in November 2011.