Below excerpt from the New York Times
Published: October 7, 2011
Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Three Activist Women
LONDON — 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 Friday’s decision 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 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.”
Read more here.
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Watch Leymah Gbowee at the 2011 Celebration of Teaching & Learning:
- Entire Video: http://thirteencelebration.org/blog/video/video-celebration-2011-opening-plenary/2521/
Tune in to watch Leymah Gbowee in a new 5-part series, Women War and Peace, premiering October 11, 2011 on PBS stations nationwide:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace
Read Leymah Gbowee’s new memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers:
http://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Be-Our-Powers-Sisterhood/dp/0984295151
For Educators:
View a lesson about Pray the Devil Back to Hell, which highlights the work of Leymah Gbowee and the women of Liberia:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/for-educators/peaceful-protests-lesson-overview/
We encourage you to spread Leymah Gbowee’s powerful message in your community.
Contact us if you would like to do screenings in your community, share ideas of how to bring this content into your classrooms, or if you’re in a Book Club how you might use the programs or Leymah’s book as the centerpiece for one of your fall meetings.
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The Celebration of Teaching & Learning congratulates Leymah Gbowee for her perseverance and work in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality.
