Friday, October 7, 2011 - In 2009, Leymah Gbowee received the Gruber Women's Rights Prize for helping to build peace in her homeland of Liberia. Mobilizing both Christian and Muslim women in a collaborative resistance movement, she was instrumental in finally bringing an end to the Liberian civil war. Through sit-ins and other acts of resistance, she was able to get President Charles Taylor to meet with rebel groups at the peace table in Ghana and eventually agree to peace terms and an end to a seemingly intractable civil war.
In the period following the war, women of that movement played an important role in demilitarization efforts, post-conflict reconstruction, and in providing valuable support to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in her successful campaign to become president of Liberia and the first elected female head of state in Africa. Women, War, and Peace, a documentary series on PBS beginning on October 11, will feature Gbowee.
"We are thrilled that Leymah's work has now been recognized by the Nobel committee, and send her, and her co-winners, our warmest congratulations," said Patricia Gruber, president of the Gruber Foundation. "We are sure that this new honor will only increase the amount of positive change she can make, globally. We also commend the Nobel committee for this spotlight on Women's rights."
