5 Things to Know About Nobel Peace Prize Winners Ellen Johnson Sirleaf + Leymah Gbowee

Hats off and congratulations are due to Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and women’s rights activist Leymah Gbowee who were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize , along with Yemeni journalist/activist, Tawakul Karman, this morning.
Though we may know a lot about Sirleaf, Gbowee is a new name to many of us.

Here are 5 things to know about this vibrant mother of six:

Leymah Gbowee

1. She was born in a village near Monrovia in 1972. She moved the capital when she was 17.
2. She is credited with mobilizing women in Liberia to help end the 14-year civil war by organizing the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace in 2003. The movement sought to mobilize women to demand change from former president Charles Taylor.
3. She is the Executive Director of the Ghanaian-based Women Peace and Security Network (WPSN), which seeks to advocate women’s rights in sub-Saharan Africa. She is also a founding member of the Women in Peacebuilding Program/West African Network for Peacebuilding (WIPNET/WANEP).
4. Married to Liberian IT consultant Gay Fatormah, Leymah is a mother of six biological and adopted children.
5. She is also an author, writing the book, “Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War,” about her experience in the 2003 peace protests in Liberia.


Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

1. She is the first democratically elected African woman president. She took office in 2005, and is currently serving her second term.
2. She was born in Monrovia, studied economics and accounts at the College of West Africa in Monrovia, and married her husband James Sirleaf at 17 years old.
3. She is a Harvard graduate, having studied economics and public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
4. Her 2005 presidential win wasn’t the first time she ran for the post. She ran for vice-resident in 1985,but was placed under house arrest and later sentenced to 10 years in prison for “sedition” after making a speech against the ruling party.
5. She and Leymah Gbowee are the second and third African women to win the Nobel Peace Prize, the first being Wangari Mathai, who passed away last month.