Nobel Price Winners 2011

Tawakul Karman (Yemen/Yémen); Leymah Gbowee (Liberia/Libéria); Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia/Libéria).

"The International Alliance of Women congratulates the three winners of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."


The International Alliance of Women - Equal Rights - Equal Responsibilities wishes to extend congratulations to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on the Nobel Peace Prize 2011.
We admire her courage and are hopeful that this prize will aid her in her continued efforts to bring peace to her previously war-torn and in many ways, still divided country as well as maintaining peace with its neighbors, especially the Ivory Coast.
We have been excited by her election to President of Liberia as the first woman in that country and have confidence that her activities for Peace and Reconciliation and Liberian debt reduction will bear fruit.
Her actions as president in promoting Freedom of Information, in an era where information is power, and the Executive Order concerning free (but compulsory) elementary education will equip girls to take up the cause of equal rights while bearing equal responsibilities.

The International Alliance of Women - Equal Rights - Equal Responsibilities further wishes to extend congratulations to Ms Leymah Gbowee on the Nobel Peace Prize 2011. This is an excellent addition to her impressive list of peace prizes since 2007.
As the founder of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, Ms Gbowee was a non-violent force against civil war, saying. "In the past we were silent, but after being killed, raped, dehumanized, and infected with diseases, and watching our children and families destroyed, war has taught us that the future lies in saying NO to violence and YES to peace! We will not relent until peace prevails."   She was instrumental in founding the "Women in Peacebuilding Network" (WIPNET) which spreads her message throughout West Africa.
Her actions are an inspiring example of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in practice and we are delighted that the Nobel Committee's decision will provide support to continue her efforts.

The International Alliance of Women - Equal Rights - Equal Responsibilities finally wishes to extend congratulations to Tawakkul Karman توكل كرمان on the Nobel Peace Prize 2011. In awarding the prize the Committee said: "In the most trying circumstances, both before and during the 'Arab Spring', Tawakkul Karman has played a leading part in the struggle for women’s rights and for democracy and peace in Yemen."
As an international women's organisation, the IAW especially appreciates her efforts against corruption, female illiteracy, malnutrition, forced marriage and the position of women in Islam. These are all topics on which the IAW has worked for years.  We applaud her activities as a human rights activist, especially though the group "Women Journalists without Chains", which she founded, and as a politician, organizing student rallies in the capital of Sanaa.
Karman’s dedication to the youth of revolution in Yemen and the Yemeni people inspires our admiration.