OSLO,Norway -Africa's first democratically elected female president ,a Liberian Campaigner against rape and a women who stood up to Yemen's autocratic regime won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of the importance of women's rights in the spread of global peace.
The 10 million kronor award was split three ways between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, women's rights activist Leymah Gbowee from the same African country and democracy activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen — the first Arab woman to win the prize.
The Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee told the associated press that Karman's awards should be seen as a signal that both women and Islam have important roles to play in the wave of anti-autoritarian revolts that have challenged rulers across the Arab World.
Jagland said "The Arab Spring cannot be successful without including the women in it"
