Women Deliver Congratulates 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winners

We at Women Deliver congratulate this year’s three Nobel Peace Prize winners—Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee, and Yemeni peace activist Tawakkul Karman—on being recognized by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”

Earlier this year, Women Deliver recognized Sirleaf and Gbowee (pictured at right at Women Deliver 2010) for their courage and leadership amid conflict on “Women Deliver 100,” our list of the 100 most inspiring people who have delivered for girls and women.

The tripartite prize is meant to emphasize the importance of women in the peace process, according to the Nobel Committee. “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society,” said Chairman Thorbjørn Jagland.

With their personal journeys, Sirleaf, Gbowee, and Karman have all set outstanding examples of leadership for the world.

Sirleaf is Africa’s first democratically elected female president. Since being elected in 2006, Sirleaf has prioritized the empowerment of girls and women, pushed for prosecuting violence against women, and emphasized girls’ education and women’s economic opportunity—all while she tries to rebuild a nation destroyed by more than 10 years of civil war.

Instrumental in ending the same war was Gbowee, who in 2003 started a small demonstration that grew into an unprecedented alliance of Christian and Muslim women demanding an end to civil strife. Gbowee’s ability to bring together Liberia’s women to stand strong against violence resulted in President Charles Taylor being ousted from power and Sirleaf’s election. Gbowee now runs the Women Peace and Security Network – Africa and works to increase the influence of women in achieving peace.

“I am a symbol of hope in my community, on the continent, in a place where there is little to be hopeful for,” Gbowee said. “If you are a symbol of hope, you don’t do it because you are expecting a reward. You do it because you are expected to do so and there are people that are relying [and] depending on you in your community.”

Karman, the leader of Women Journalists without Chains human rights group and a mother of three, has long-been engaged in the struggle for women’s rights and democracy in Yemen. In early 2011, as anti-government protests erupted in Sana’a, Karman began fighting for the rights of Yemeni people to live without oppression. Although this struggle continues, Karman says that she is proud of the prize and feels the voice of the Yemeni people is being heard globally. “It is a prize for Yemen, Yemeni youth, and women.”

Sadly, the Nobel Committee’s announcement came one day before the state funeral of Wangari Maathai, the first African women to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Known as the “tree mother of Africa,” Maathai won the honor in 2004 for work to promote conservation and women’s rights.