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| 葉門鐵娘子卡曼（左）、賴比瑞亞女總統瑟莉芙（中）以及賴比瑞亞女權運動者格鮑伊（右），因為提倡以非暴力手段促進民主、和平與性別平等，七日同獲諾貝爾和平獎殊榮。，（法新社） |
〔編 譯魏國金／綜合七日外電報導〕賴比瑞亞女總統瑟莉芙、賴比瑞亞女權運動者格鮑伊以及葉門反獨裁鬥士卡曼，因為提倡以非暴力手段促進和平、民主與性別平等， 七日同獲諾貝爾和平獎殊榮。這是阿拉伯女性首度獲得該獎，也是自二○○四年以來，非洲女性再次獲得諾貝爾和平獎委員會的肯定。
賴比瑞亞女總統瑟莉芙 建立和平
諾貝爾和平獎委員會主席賈格蘭指出，三人的獲獎顯示「我們無法成就民主與維繫世界和平，除非女性也獲得如男性的機會，以影響社會所有層面的發展」。非洲首位民選女總統瑟莉芙，將與反對內戰的女權運動者格鮑伊，及阿拉伯民運人士卡曼共享一千萬瑞典克朗獎金。
在諾貝爾和平獎的一百一十年歷史上，只有一九九四年那一次是由三人共享。這次三位女性再寫紀錄，凸顯出和平獎委員會想要激勵全球女性勇敢爭取權利。
賴國女權運動者格鮑伊 終止內戰
頌詞稱讚瑟莉芙對建立和平、促進社經發展以及提升女性地位的貢獻；也讚揚格鮑伊努力動員不同種族和宗教信仰的女性來終止內戰；至於卡曼則是發揮領導地位，爭取葉門女權及民主。
賈格蘭指出，卡曼的獲獎彰顯「阿拉伯之春若無女性參與，將無法成功」。三十二歲的卡曼是三個孩子的母親，她領導「無枷鎖女記者」人權組織，今年一月下旬葉門爆發反總統薩利赫後，她就是組織抗爭的要角。
葉門女鬥士卡曼 率組織爭取人權
卡曼七日表示︰「這是葉門人民、葉門革命與所有阿拉伯革命的勝利，它傳遞出阿拉伯獨裁年代已告結束的訊息，它告訴所有暴虐政體，自由與尊嚴之聲無法被淹沒。」她矢言︰「我們的和平革命將持續進行，直到推翻薩利赫、建立公民社會為止。」
在 和平獎公布之前，「阿拉伯之春」獲獎呼聲極高。賈格蘭解釋，委員會對給獎「阿拉伯之春」有意見，因為利比亞陷入內戰，致使北約軍事介入、埃及與突尼西亞仍 動盪不安，葉門、敘利亞的強硬派仍掌政，同時「阿拉伯之春」的領袖難以界定，而卡曼在阿拉伯風起雲湧的民運之前，「早已挺身反對全世界最獨裁政權多年。」
賴比瑞亞女權運動者格鮑伊在得知獲獎後說︰「這是頒給非洲女性的諾貝爾獎。」她從手機簡訊獲知得獎時，正好搭機從舊金山飛往紐約，她高興地告訴隔壁乘客說︰「我剛剛贏得諾貝爾獎。」格鮑伊是設於迦納的「非洲女性和平與安全網絡」組織領袖，她是五名子女的母親。
另一位獲獎人、賴國總統瑟莉芙則說︰「我與格鮑伊都代表賴比瑞亞人民接受此獎，這個獎是歸於賴國人民。這使我更加矢志為國家和解努力。」七十二歲的瑟莉芙於二○○五年掌理剛結束十四年殘酷內戰的賴國，這場內戰造成二十五萬人喪生、國家百廢待舉。
Human Rights | 07.10.2011
Three women awarded Nobel Peace Prize for work in women's rights
Praise has begun pouring in from the international community in reaction to the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen for their work on women's rights.
Angela Merkel called it a "wise decision" to give the award to the three peace activists who, in the words of the German chancellor, embody the "global struggle for a more peaceful and better world."
The Oslo-based Nobel Committee honored the three women "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."
Sirleaf, 72, is a Harvard-trained economist who became Africa's first democratically elected female president in 2005. She declared corruption a public enemy and implemented institutional reform with a determination that saw her thrown into jail twice by military dictator Samuel Doe in the 1980s.
"This is a prize for all Liberian people," Sirleaf said in an address to the country. "It is the result of my years of fighting for peace in this country. This prize is shared with Leymah who is another Liberian. It is also a prize for all Liberian women."
Sirleaf's efforts at reform and peace since taking office have won her international acclam. At home, however, her opponents have accused her of vote-rigging and using government funds to campaign, charges she rejects.
Sirleaf's main election rival criticized both the choice of winner and the award's timing
Sirleaf received the award ahead of a presidential election in Liberia on Tuesday.
"Madam Sirleaf does not deserve a Nobel Peace Prize award because she has committed violence in this country," Sirleaf's election rival Winston Tubman told AFP. "The timing of this award is provocative. No Nobel prize can make any difference for this president, that is why people will vote to get her out of power. This prize will have no bearing on ordinary Liberians."
International response
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the award was wonderful news, and that the three recipients could not have been better chosen.
"Above all, it underscores the vital role that women play in the advancement of peace and security, development and human rights," Ban said.
EU leaders described the choice of winners as "a victory for a new democratic Africa and a new democratic Arab World." In a joint statement, EU President Herman van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that Sirleaf, Gbowee and Karman "have been an inspiration to all those who defend women's active participation in social and political life and in peace building."
Amnesty International, like many other rights groups and world leaders, also concluded that that award would "encourage women everywhere to continue fighting for their rights."
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu offered arguably the most enthusiastic response on hearing the news about Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
"The president of Liberia? Woo-hoo!" Tutu said after leaving a church service celebrating his 80th birthday. "She deserves it many times over. She's brought stability to a place that was going to hell."
Emboldening Liberian women
Liberia was ravaged by civil wars for years until 2003. The country is still struggling to maintain a fragile peace with the help of UN peacekeepers.
Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee, 39, organized a group of Christian and Muslim women to challenge Liberia's warlords.
Gbowee heads a group that challenges Liberian warlordsIn 2003, under Gbowee's leadership, the group managed to force a meeting with then President Charles Taylor, which led him to promise he would attend peace talks in Ghana aimed at repairing the war-raged Liberian state.
As it became clear the "Accra" talks were going nowhere, and on a day a bomb exploded at the American embassy compound in the capital Monrovia, Gbowee threatened to strip naked in public, seen as a powerful curse in West Africa.
The dramatic move forced the men back into negotiations and, two weeks later, the terms of the Accra peace treaty were announced, paving the way for reconciliation.
As part of additional efforts to raise awareness of women's rights in Liberia, Gbowee launched a "sex strike" in 2002, which banded together the country's Christian and Muslim women to refuse sex with their husbands.
Protests in Yemen
Tawakul Karman, 32, is an activist for press freedom and women's rights in Yemen. She founded Women Journalists without Chains, a human rights group for journalists. She is one of a handful of women who struggle for freedom, particularly for women's rights, in a male-dominated conservative society.
Karman played a role in organizing protests in YemenKarman had been a leading figure in organizing the protests in Yemen that opposed the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, which kicked off in late January.
Karman's father is a former legal affairs minister under Saleh. She is a journalist, mother of three, and member of the Islah party, an Islamic party.
"We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society," the committee said in reference to Karman's achievements in the pursuit of peace.
In response to the news, Karman said on Friday the award was a "victory for Yemen and all the Arab Spring revolutions" and a message that "the era of Arab dictatorships was over."
Author: Gabriel Borrud, Mark Hallam (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Nancy Isenson
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