Peace prize hails role of women and Islam

Three women have won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of the importance of women’s roles in the spread of global peace, writes Bjoern Amland.

AFRICA’S first democratically elected female president, a Liberian campaigner against rape and a woman who stood up to Yemen’s autocratic regime won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of the importance of women’s rights in the spread of global peace.The €1.1 million award was split three ways between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, women’s rights activist Leymah Gbowee from the same African country and democracy activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen — the first Arab woman to win the prize.

The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Karman’s award should be seen as a signal that both women and Islam have important roles to play in the uprisings known as the Arab Spring.