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Nobel for promoting peace, democracy and gender equality
- The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded on Friday to three campaigning women from Africa and the Arab world in acknowledgment of their non-violent role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality.
- The winners were Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Africa's first elected woman 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.
- More than 250 people were nominated for the prize this year, and there had been speculation that it would reward bloggers or other activists from West Asia using social networking sites and other Internet platforms as they challenged entrenched dictatorships, particularly in Tunisia and Egypt.
- In Yemen, Ms. Karman has been widely known as a vocal opponent of the pro-U.S. regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh since 2007, heading a human rights advocacy group called Women Journalists Without Chains.
- Some of her supporters have labeled her “The Mother of Revolution”.
- In Liberia, Ms. Gbowee (39) was cited by the Nobel committee for uniting Christian and Muslim women against her country's warlords.
Polls, a litmus test for Liberia
- Liberians vote on Tuesday in elections which are seen as a litmus test of their fragile post-war democracy, and come amid security concerns over weapons and mercenaries circulating in the country.
- Ms. Sirleaf, who made history in 2005 when she became Africa's first elected woman President, is facing a tough battle for re-election despite being a darling of the international community.
- The economy has picked up and massive investments have been made in iron ore, palm oil and oil exploration.
- However, having started from zero after successive civil wars between 1989 and 2003
