Hooray for the Nobel Committee in awarding this year's peace prize to three women working for human rights!
Congratulations to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia; Leymah Gbowee, Liberian peace activist, and Tawakul Karman, currently part of the protest occupation in Yemen's capital Sanaa calling for a change of leadership.
The decision honors the peace and democracy in Liberia after civil war and speaks of hope that its larger neighbors, Egypt, Libya, and Syria, will also be able to institute and sustain democracy.
The committee cited Ellen, Leymah, and Tawakul for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."
This is the first time that work for women's rights has been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize.
Thank you for this bold statement that the struggle for women's right to be safe and to work for political change is a contribution to peace.
It reminds the world that human rights include women's rights... that women are human.
To hold us back is to hobble all humanity.
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