Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Three Women Leaders
Friday, October 7, 2011 at 12:01PM What could be a better posthumous nod to Wangari Maathai than the recognition of three outstanding women leaders and activists for the Nobel Peace Prize? The winners were Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, fellow Liberian and peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and Yemeni pro-democracy campaigner Tawakul Karman. The Nobel Prize Committee announced that collectively, these women are being honored for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work." 
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee
Besides Maathai, there have been nine other women awarded this distinction. This year's award winners demonstrate, as Maathai did, that women of color can make powerful changes in the world by having the courage to speak their truths. Their focused tenacity in the face of political and violent opposition is inspiring. Hopefully, this award will bring increased attention to women's rights and peace-building efforts, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. 
Yemeni activist Tawakul Karman
