Nobel Peace Prize
The 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award was split three ways between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, peace activist Leymah Gbowee, from the same African country, and democracy proponent Tawakkul Karman of Yemen — the first Arab woman to win the prize.
"We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society," committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland told reporters.
By citing Karman, the committee also appeared to be acknowledging the effects of the Arab Spring, which has challenged authoritarian regimes across the region.
Jagland told The Associated Press that Karman's award should be seen as a signal that both women and Islam have important roles to play in the uprisings.
"The Arab Spring cannot be successful without including the women in it," Jagland said.
"I am very very happy about this prize," said Karman, a 32-year-old mother of three who heads the human rights group Women Journalists without Chains.
She has been a leading figure in organizing protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh that began in late January as part of a wave of anti-authoritarian revolts that have convulsed the Arab world.
"I give the prize to the youth of revolution in Yemen and the Yemeni people," Karman told The Associated Press.
'Iron Woman'
Jagland noted that Karman's work started before the Arab uprisings.
"Many years before the revolutions started she stood up against one of the most authoritarian and autocratic regimes in the world," he told reporters.
Yemen is an extremely conservative society but a feature of the Arab Spring uprising there has been a prominent role for women who turned out for protests in large numbers.
Read more: msnbc
