The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded jointly to three courageous women: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the President of Liberia; Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist, and Tawakkul Karman, a Yemeni human rights activist.
Sirleaf is the first woman president of an African country; Gbowee is an activist for peace, and Karman works to defend women’s rights and promote democracy in Yemen, a country which in the last few months has been troubled by serious socio-political conflicts.
The prize was awarded to the three “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in the peace-building process.”
As Daughters of St. Paul, we rejoice for this recognition of the particular contribution women can make to civil and societal progress in the contemporary world.