Three women were honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for their roles in promoting peace and democracy. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karaman, and Liberian women’s rights activist Leymah Gbowee were the first women to win the prize since 2004. Ms. Karaman is the first Arab woman to win the prize and, in her early 30s, she is the youngest recipient in the award’s history.
“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 societies,” the Nobel Peace Prize announcement reads.
The majority of recipients of the 110-year-old award have been men, and many view the committee’s decision to honor three women with the $1.5 million prize as highlighting the growing prominence of women in peace and democracy-building wordwide.
“You give concrete meaning to the Chinese proverb which says that ‘women hold up half of the sky,’” Norwegian Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland told the recipients.
John McConnico/AP/File
