Melania Trump Wears White Coat, Louboutin Heels For International Women Of Courage Award Speech

Melania Trump gave a rare speech during the 2017 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award at the State Department on Wednesday. She appeared alongside Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas Shannon.

The first lady wore a below-the-knee-length white, belted coat dress with lapels. She also wore a pair of brown, patterned Christian Louboutin Pigalle Follies pumps that run for about $745 at Neiman Marcus.

The annual ceremony honors a group of women from around the world who hold positions in leadership and have shown unparalleled strength and courage in their line of work. The 2017 awardees included a group of about a dozen women, including Veronica Simogun, the Director and founder of Family for Change Association from Papua New Guinea, Major Aichatou Ousmane Issaka, a Deputy Director of Social Work at the Military Hospital of Niamey from Niger and Rebecca Kabugho, a political and social activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Other women included activists and human rights champions from countries like Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

Read: Watch First Lady At International Women Of Courage Award Ceremony

“Each of the award recipients has overcome incredible odds in her pursuit to change the world and make it better,” Melania Trump said, according to a White House statement. “As women, we must continue to stand together with the steadfast goal of making our world safer through acts of collaborative and individual bravery. As we all know, wherever women are diminished, the entire world is diminished with them.”

The first lady spoke to issues that she said still need to be tackled, like “gender empowerment” and respect across all “backgrounds and ethnicities.”

Tuesday evening, Trump also hosted a reception event at the White House event with the POTUS along for senators; she wore a black dress by Roland Mouret.