Nobel honours African, Arab women for peace
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first woman freely elected as a head of state in Africa, shared the award worth $1.5 million with compatriot Leymah Gbowee, who promoted a "sex strike" among efforts to end Liberia's civil war, and Yemen's Tawakul Karman, who called her honour "a victory for the Arab Spring".
"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," Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland told reporters.
"This is to highlight an incredibly important issue all over the world but especially in Africa and in the Arab world."
Karman, a 32-year-old journalist and veteran campaigner, has been a key figure in protests in the capital Sanaa this year:
"This is a victory for the Arab Spring in Tunis, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen," she told Reuters. "This is a message that the era of Arab dictatorships is over."
Typically, she was out demonstrating in a central square in Sanaa for the departure of veteran Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh when she heard the news.
Johnson-Sirleaf, 72, a former World Bank economist dubbed the "Iron Lady" by opponents, called it a recognition of her nation's "many years of struggle for justice, peace, and promotion of development" since a brutal decade of civil war.
"I believe we both accept this on behalf of the Liberian people, and the credit goes to the Liberian people," she said.
Gbowee, 39, was travelling in the United States. Her Women For Peace movement is credited by some helping end the war in 2003. Starting with prayers and songs at a fish market, she also urged the wives and girlfriends of leaders of the warring factions to deny them sex until they laid down their arms.
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Another Carrot for Muslims (& Muslim Women particularly) to seek such a prize & in the process, forget their actual duties towards Allah, Islam & fellow brothers & sisters.
I wish Muslims understand the trap & mend their ways.
West is biased... they cant see Edhi for so many years...
@?: My dear! They have been dispatched to the garbage bin of history by the molvis of the Muslim world. Salams.
@aniq: Last I checked the only differing treatment of women in the US military is they're allowed to keep more of their hair. It seems like you guys believe your situation and treatment of people are actually common. The one thing you can't do and sound intelligent about is try and deflect it by accusing any Western country of the same things that you're not only accused of but advertise freely with pride.
It just goes to show that the Pakistani's who are the loudest really don't know what they're talking about when it comes to the West. No matter the issue, if you compare Pakistan to the west in such matters, the odds are not in your favor. You're actually a little bit of a freakshow country.
The way you deal with social matters is not only far from common but outright obnoxious. It would be smart to face the reality of it as there is one very common thing throughout history. When a country treats certain types of people as inferior and disposable they either correct it or get destroyed.
How dare the west award the Nobel prize to a Muslim woman. It's a clever ploy to make her appear in public without burqa at the prize giving ceremony.
Listened to the two Liberian ladies in the radio interview. Sad could not able to listen to Ms. Karman interview. All said, glad that women's struggle and issues are highlighted specifically in this award.
The West is not biased. We are.
first look at treatmen of women in us military stop trying to issue of gender equality to promote a narrative that islam is anti women. and you are so called helping women, we dont want muslim women to end up like Britney Spears
This year’s selection only proves that the West is not biased against people from the other background. Congratulations to the Noel Committee and the prize winners. Hopefully they continue to work for humanity.
where is physics, chemistry, and others??
If the Noble Peace Prize could have been given to three great women, then why not the fourth one as well. Zainab Alkhawja, also known as Angry Arabia, could have also been awarded Nobel Peace Prize. She could not get the Nobel Peace Prize because her "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work" could have hurt the rulers of Bahrain! Zainab Alkhawja’s husband, father, brother-in-law, uncles and some relatives are in jails, her sister, also and activist, is forced to live in exile! She also went to hunger strike but called off because then she was not able to feed her infant! In spite of all these odds, she is still “non-violent”!