Accra, Oct. 7, GNA - The Executive Board and Staff of African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) on Friday congratulated Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Madam Leymah Gbowee, Executive Director of WIPSEN and Member of African Women Leaders Network for Reproductive Health and Family Planning (AWLN), and Madam Tawakkul Karman, Human Rights Activist.

They were being congratulated for being joint winners of the Nobel Peace Prize 2011 “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work".

A statement issued in Accra by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) Programme Officer for Communications, said the award was a significant recognition of the efforts that all three women had made to create sustainable peace in their respective communities.

“As Africa’s first democratically elected woman Head of State, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a powerful symbol of women’s leadership on the African continent and beyond.

“Leymah Gbowee, through her tireless mobilisation of community women across religious and ethnic lines, first in Liberia and then across West Africa, signifies the power and impact of building movements for women’s rights, peace and democracy.”

Theo Sowa, Interim CEO of AWDF states, “I am delighted that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman have been jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2011.

“This is especially important for all of us that work on women’s human rights and peace building. This is a great boost to women’s rights activists everywhere.”