The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded on Friday to three campaigning women from Africa and the Arab world in acknowledgment of their nonviolent role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. The winners were Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — Africa’s first elected female president — her compatriot, peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen, a pro-democracy campaigner.
They were the first women to win the prize since Kenya’s Wangari Maathai, who died last month, was named as the laureate in 2004. Most of the recipients in the award’s 110-year history have been men, and the award seemed designed to give impetus to the cause for women’s rights around the world.
“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 the citation read to reporters by Thorbjorn Jagland, a former Norwegian prime minister who heads the Oslo-based Nobel committee that chooses the winner of the $1.5 million prize.
In a subsequent interview, he described the prize as “a very important signal to women all over the world.”
As the prize was announced, Bushuben Keita, a spokesman for Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf’s Unity Party, declared: “We are dancing. This is the thing that we have been saying, progress has been made in Liberia. We’ve come through 14 years of war and we have come to sustained peace. We’ve already started dancing.”
…In Yemen, Ms. Karman, 32, sat in a tent where has been living since February as part of the sit-in organized to underscore demands for change. “This is the victory of our peaceful revolution,” she said. “I am so happy and I give this award to all of the youth and all of the women across the Arab world, in Egypt, in Tunisia.”
“We cannot build our country or any country in the world without peace,” she said.
I heard the other day that some people actually had an issue with three women winning the well-deserved prize… after all this time, isn’t it only right that women start getting properly recognised for the work they do and have done?
-
innositer reblogged this from inothernews
-
xx-rapunzel-xx reblogged this from lykethebyrd
-
gustavclit reblogged this from a-rambling-shadow
-
a-rambling-shadow reblogged this from gauvaindecourfeyrac
-
gauvaindecourfeyrac reblogged this from lipsredasroses
-
yomikaesu reblogged this from flavorpill
-
tecnologia-android reblogged this from flavorpill
-
tecnologia-android likes this
-
marlodjur likes this
-
mizshellytee likes this
-
kricketune-cacophony likes this
-
not-the-stig reblogged this from captainthing-deactivated
-
thisisamoriartyparty likes this
-
captainthing-deactivated reblogged this from kricketune-cacophony
-
fuckcapitalism reblogged this from crossmydna
-
fuckcapitalism likes this
-
jjarichardson reblogged this from inothernews
-
photocyte reblogged this from flavorpill and added:
I heard the other day that some people actually had an issue with three women winning the well-deserved prize… after all...
-
heylittlered reblogged this from shallanelprin
-
heylittlered likes this
-
shallanelprin reblogged this from sleepydumpling
-
sleepydumpling reblogged this from laranitanz
-
sssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh likes this
-
apiphile reblogged this from snarkasaurus
-
abjv reblogged this from willastyrells
-
yosoyvaleria reblogged this from inothernews
-
oddincense likes this
-
aycedanger reblogged this from onmyowntwohands
-
soapboxetiquette likes this
-
highgatedreams likes this
-
wiseatwry likes this
-
verymadlib likes this
-
fyahblaze reblogged this from vibinwithu
-
lipstickandlasers reblogged this from inothernews
-
aspiringdinosaur reblogged this from driedfruits
-
aspiringdinosaur likes this
-
driedfruits reblogged this from dreamingofmagic
-
storybookromance likes this
-
slotfi likes this
-
elevatdconscioustate likes this
-
ashawaris likes this
-
whocourtsanymore likes this
-
anindiscriminatecollection reblogged this from onmyowntwohands
-
foofalollipop reblogged this from ldvn
-
lohanscocaine reblogged this from ldvn
-
ldvn reblogged this from onmyowntwohands
-
kolayotunde reblogged this from onmyowntwohands
-
viaanelli likes this
-
onmyowntwohands reblogged this from lesbianlegbreaker and added:
Via the New York Times: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded on Friday to three campaigning women from Africa and...
- Show more notes
