Struggle for women’s rights wins Peace Nobel

The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liberian President Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul
Karman of Yemen for their work on women's rights.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored the three women "for their
non—violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to
full participation in peace—building work."
"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," the prize committee said.
Ms. Karman is a 32—year—old mother of three who heads the human rights
group Women Journalists without Chains. She has been a leading figure
in organizing protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh that
kicked off in late January as part of a wave of anti—authoritarian
revolts that have convulsed the Arab world.
"I am very very happy about this prize," Ms. Karman told The
Associated Press. "I give the prize to the youth of revolution in
Yemen and the Yemeni people."
By citing Ms. Karman, the committee appeared to be acknowleding the
effects of the Arab Spring, which has challenged authoritarian regimes
across the region. But citing the Arab Spring alone could have been
problematic for the committee. The unrest toppled authoritarian
regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. But Libya descended into civil
war that led to NATO military intervention. Egypt and Tunisia are
still in turmoil. Hardliners are holding onto power in Yemen and Syria
and a Saudi—led force crushed the uprising in Bahrain, leaving an
uncertain record for the Arab protest movement
Prize committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland noted that Ms. Kamran's
work started before the Arab uprisings.
"Many years before the revolutions started she stood up against one of
the most authoritarian and autocratic regimes in the world," he told
reporters.
Johnson Sirleaf, 72, is a Harvard—trained economist who became
Africa's first democratically elected female president in 2005.
Liberia was ravaged by civil wars for years until 2003 and is still
struggling to maintain a fragile peace with the help of U.N.
peacekeepers.
Ms. Sirleaf was seen as a reformer and peacemaker in Liberia when she
took office. She is running for re-election this month and opponents
in the presidential campaign have accused her of buying votes and
using government funds to campaign. Her camp denies the charges.
The committee cited Johnson Sirleaf's efforts to secure peace in her
country, promote economic and social development and strengthen the
position of women.
Ms. Gbowee, who organized a group of Christian and Muslim women to
challenge Liberia's warlords, was honored for mobilising women "across
ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in
Liberia, and to ensure women's participation in elections."
In 2009 she won a Profile in Courage Award, an honor named for a 1957
Pulitzer Prize—winning book written by John F. Kennedy, for her work
in emboldening women in Liberia.
Yemen is an extremely conservative society but a feature of the Arab
Spring uprising there has been a prominent role for women who turned
out for protests in large numbers.
A resident of Taiz, a city in southern Yemen that is a hotbed of
resistance against Saleh's regime, Ms. Karman is a journalist and
member of Islah, an Islamic party. Her father is a former legal
affairs minister under Saleh.
She was briefly detained in January, for a few hours, for leading
anti—Saleh protests and was released after protesters rallied to
pressure authorities for her release.
During a February rally in Sanaa, she told the AP- "We will retain the
dignity of the people and their rights by bringing down the regime."
The complete text of the citation awarding the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize
to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah
Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen "for their nonviolent struggle for
the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in
peace-building work."
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize
for 2011 is to be divided in three equal parts between Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their nonviolent
struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full
participation in peace-building work. 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.
In October 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325. The
resolution for the first time made violence against women in armed
conflict an international security issue. It underlined the need for
women to become participants on an equal footing with men in peace
processes and in peace work in general.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Africa's first democratically elected female
president. Since her inauguration in 2006, she has contributed to
securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social
development, and to strengthening the position of women. Leymah Gbowee
mobilized and organized women across ethnic and religious dividing
lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure
women's participation in elections. She has since worked to enhance
the influence of women in West Africa during and after war. In the
most trying circumstances, both before and during the "Arab spring,"
Tawakkul Karman has played a leading part in the struggle for women's
rights and for democracy and peace in Yemen.
It is the Norwegian Nobel Committee's hope that the prize to Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman will help to bring
an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many
countries, and to realise the great potential for democracy and peace
that women can represent.