Nobel Peace Prize: 2011 winners honored for their efforts supporting women's rights in developing countries

Motley Rice recognizes 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their participation and perseverance in non-violent, peace-building work.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically-elected female president, ushered in a period of relative peace and economic prosperity in Liberia following decades of political repression and violent civil war. Also working to build a peaceful Liberia during its second civil war, Leymah Gbowee and her "Women of Liberia Mass Action For Peace" organization helped pressure warring factions into reaching an end to the violence in that country. Yemini journalist Tawakkol Karman, also called the "Iron Woman" and the "Mother of the Revolution," has been instrumental in driving her country's movement for reform through regime change. She heads the group "Women Journalists Without Chains," which she co-founded in 2005.

Each of these remarkable women highlights the necessity of the female voice in non-violent protest and populist change at all levels of society. Reaching lasting peace and democracy, whether independently in countries such as Liberia or in the context of a greater, regional movement such as the Arab Spring, requires the awareness and struggle of all members of society. Motley Rice is proud to support these women, all three of whom share our principles of selflessness and resilience in the pursuit of a greater good.

Read more about how Motley Rice human rights lawyers fight on behalf of American citizens and international people who have suffered crimes against humanity and unjust infringement upon basic human rights.