2011 — Sirleaf and Gbowee Win the Nobel Peace Prize

In Oslo, Norway, on October 7, 2011, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that year's Nobel Peace Prize, and it went to three women. Two were Liberian. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically elected female head of state, had guided her nation out of a brutal civil war. Leymah Gbowee, the activist who united Liberian women across ethnic and religious lines, had marched in white, demanding peace until the guns fell silent.

They shared the honour with Yemen's Tawakkul Karman, recognised for their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rightful place in peacebuilding. From the streets of Monrovia to the world stage, their courage proved that peace can be won without weapons.