On Friday, October 7, 2011 past Hunger Project Africa Prize laureate Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize along with Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni pro-democracy campaigner Tawakkul Karman. As noted by the New York Times, they are the first women to win the prize since Wangari Maathai of Kenya won in 2004. Wangari Maathai, also a past Africa Prize laureate, passed away in September.
In 2006, development expert and former head of UNDP’s Africa Bureau, President Sirleaf was awarded The Hunger Project’s Africa Prize for the Sustainable End of Hunger for her commitment to the empowerment of women. She is credited with rebuilding Liberia after 14 years of devastating civil war and emphasizing the necessity of gender equality in the process. During her 2006 campaign for presidency, President Sirleaf insisted “the education of girls is to become a cornerstone of development in Liberia.”
All three women received the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”
A huge congratulations from us at The Hunger Project to President Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman.
Learn More
- About the Laureates
- President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
- The Africa Prize for the Sustainable End of Hunger
- 2011 Nobel Peace Prize
