Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkul Karman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (left to right)
Three women who have been tireless in their fight for women’s rights and peace were given the Nobel Peace Prize for 2011. The three are Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee, both of Liberia, and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen. The announcement of their selection stated that the women were being honored “for their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” They will take equal shares of the cash prize, which totals about $1.4 million.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is probably the best known of the recipients. The 72-year-old first came to public attention in 1972, when she sharply—and bravely—criticized Liberia’s government in a commencement speech at her former high school. Now president of her country, she is the first woman to be democratically elected as a head of state in Africa. Johnson Sirleaf is credited with helping bring peace to Liberia after its long civil war.
Leymah Gbowee is a founder and executive director of Women Peace and Security Network–Africa. The documentary film Pray the Devil Back to Hell focuses on her efforts to mobilize women from different backgrounds to demand an end to Liberia’s brutal civil war.
Tawakkul (also spelled Tawakul, Tawakkol, or Tawakel) Karman has been instrumental in organizing Yemen’s prodemocracy movement. She is the president of Women Journalists Without Chains, a group that campaigns for freedom of the press. Karman has been described as “Yemen’s most active activist.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee expressed hope that the prize would improve the lives of women in many countries and would emphasize the “great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent.”
Image credit: Lisa Poole/Hani Mohammed/Olivier Asselin/dapd
Related Links
- Three Women’s Rights Activists Share Nobel Peace Prize
Read the basic information about the announcement here.
(Source: CNN.com, October 7, 2011) - Nobel Peace Prize Recognizes Women Rights Activists
Watch a video concerning the Nobel Peace Prize that includes the reaction of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to the announcement.
(Source: BBC News, October 7, 2011) - Government of the Republic of Liberia: Executive Mansion
Visit the official Web site of the Liberian government, which provides more information about Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
(Source: Government of Liberia; accessed October 31, 2011) - Leymah Gbowee of Women, War & Peace Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Watch an interview of Leymah Gbowee by American journalist Tavis Smiley.
(Source: Thirteen: WNET New York Public Media, October 6, 2011) - “A Day Will Come When All Human Rights Violators Pay for What They Did to Yemen”
Read an interview with Tawakkul Karman in this English-language Yemeni newspaper.
(Source: womenpress.org; originally published in Yemen Times, June 17, 2010)
i like this
thats all u can say?
yall all lame
Why was this article written?
I want the Nobel Peace Awards but I will need to try hard!!!
Girl Power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
like boss
women can make a difference too!!!!! : )
iikno thats riqht
Not only men can make a difference in this world. It’s good that these 3 adults stepped up and fought for woman rights. Woman make a difference also ( :
women have rites too!!!!!
ilikethearticlemanitfunman
yea i agree on sum of the comments womans do have rights not just men and thats why i give thanks to those three ladys
Kathy I agree with you wholeheartedly. I heatstied even posting what I did, because of the negative tone, and the fact that what I wrote would be perceived as judgmental. I am not judging the man, or anyone. Just saying that it was really too bad that he could not be obedient in such an important area. I feel the same way about JFK. Great president, little self-control in the area of marital fidelity. King David suffered the consequences of his sin, and he truly remorseful. I hope the same was the case for these two leaders.
women rights
yaaayyy!!!!!! thank god for woman rights!!!!!
i said well done to does women they deserve it
I agree with Starfury there is so much publicity for beatuy pageants and Star recogonition. Its nice to have publicized prizes that acknowledge qualities and achievements of people for other reasons.Also I love the irony and history of how Nobel Prizes were created!The story goes: Nobel (inventor of dynamite and an ammunitions company owner) read an erroneaous account of his own death. Apparently, his brother died in France and an obituary was published criticizing Nobel for having promoted death and war. Nobel, not wanting to be known for dynamite, death and war, decided to give his entire fortune to promote peace and science and literature through loans and prizes.
I enjoyed reading this article. I t really opened my eyes and showed me that no matter if i’m a girl no matter if im black I can still make a difference today. Those three women taught me a very important lesson and that was to do what i believe in! I would like to thank the people over the Nobel Peace Prize and the author of this article for aknowledging these three women!
good job to these ladies
well i think it was kind of boring