Women leading everyday peace in Ukraine. Women sparking and driving revolution in Iran. Women finding a way forward for peace in Yemen. It has been our honor and our privilege to stand with them and amplify their stories and their calls in the past six months.
“To the people of Ukraine, to the women of Ukraine: we say that your pain is ours, and your struggle is ours. We will echo your voices to the world.” Tawakkol Karman
In June of this year, laureates Jody Williams, Tawakkol Karman and Leymah Gbowee led a delegation to Poland and Ukraine to visit refugee centres and international humanitarian agencies. They met with local activists and officials, people directly affected by the war.
Last month they released the findings of their visit, as well as recommendations for international actors on how they might best support Ukrainian women working for peace. The report, entitled Women Leading Peace: Standing with Women in Conflict, can be read here
Oh Sister!, a documentary commissioned by the Nobel Women’s Initiative about the delegation, in collaboration with 23/32 Films and United for Ukraine, launched in New York City on September 16th. It features interviews with women contributing to the survival of their communities and their families, each in their own way, as well as reflections from the laureates on their journey. More about the documentary can be found here
“Today, we recognise the work of organisations in war, actions of people mobilising in communities … My hope is that these groups can find ways to engage as a first step for citizen-driven peace initiatives.” Leymah Gbowee
While in New York a group led by Jody Williams met with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed to deliver an open letter from Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, featured in Oh, Sister. In October, the Center for Civil Liberties, a leading Ukrainian human rights organization, was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Oleksandra Matvichuk was also given the Right Livelihood Award. The laureates offer their congratulations here
Weeks of grassroots protest followed the death of Mahsa Amini in September, after she was beaten by the morality police for wearing hijab improperly, and subsequently died in custody from her injuries.
Dr. Shirin Ebadi has been working tirelessly to heed the call of women of Iran to #BeOurVoice. In a powerful interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour she characterized the killing of Mahsa as “the last straw” for the women of Iran and it’s people. In the 43 years since the Shah left, people have tried every way possible to get their concerns addressed. The government’s only response has been to imprison or kill them. The current backlash is driven not only by the desire of women to have the freedom of their bodies without harassment or threat. It has grown into a call for an end to the cruel theocracy, changes to the constitution, and replacement of the regime with a secular and democratic government. More of Dr. Ebadi’s remarks can be heard here
On September 28th, over 120 Nobel laureates signed an open letter to the people of Iran, applauding their courage and amplifying their calls for justice and freedom.
“We condemn these barbaric actions toward women and protesters in Iran. Women should be free and there must be removal of all legal discriminations against women.” Shirin Ebadi
Read the open letter here
In September the Nobel Women’s Initiative hosted a one-day dialogue on pathways to peace in Yemen. Twelve women experts from Yemen, Europe and North America spoke on education, development, women’s civil society and human rights. They outlined the current state of each sector, their unique contributions to the peace process, and the strategies for optimizing that contribution.
As part of this event, NWI commissioned a mural from Haifa Subay, a young street artist living in Sana’a. Forbidden from painting in public places, she rendered the work, Waiting for Peace, on a private wall in the city. It made its debut at the dialogue. The work depicts the Yemeni people lining up for peace in the same way they line up for food, services and resources. Black doves fly overhead symbolizing the tempered hopes of the citizens.
This dialogue was intended to lay the foundations for NWI’s future work on supporting women activists in their efforts to bring peace, security and human rights to the people.
A remarkable life unfolds in a turbulent period of Iranian history
A new feature length documentary about the life and work of Dr. Ebadi debuted at the Venice Film Festival on September 5th. Entitled Shirin Ebadi: When We Are Free, the story unfolds in the context of the political, social and cultural history of Iran. Directed by Dawn Gifford Engle and produced by the PeaceJam Foundation, the film presents, for the first time, the extraordinary life of this human rights lawyer, former judge, and defender of the rights of women and children. As we learn: “The Iranian government would end up taking everything from Shirin Ebadi - her marriage, her home, her legal career, even her Nobel Prize - but the one thing it could never steal was her spirit to fight for justice and a better future. This is the amazing, at times harrowing, simply astonishing story of a woman who would never give up, no matter the risks.”
The film will be available in wide release in December 2022.
Find out more here
Minecraft Peace Builders – Jody Williams’ Game
Minecraft has been cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. Since its launch in 2011 it has sold 238 million copies. In 2021 it had 140 million active players. In 2022 Minecraft launched the Peace Builders Game, inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize winners and their lives. They hope to inspire students to work together to make a better world. Jody Williams is one of the featured laureates. Her game focuses on landmines and de-mining. A flythrough of the game can be found here
A Taste of Liberia: Building a Legacy of Peace: Join the celebration!
You are invited to join Leymah Gbowee and the next generation of leaders in celebrating a 10 year legacy of celebrating peace and education in Liberia. Featuring a host of esteemed guests, including Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Sheryl Sandberg, Forest Whitaker, Madeleine Rees, Jennifer Jones, Angélique Kidjo, Denis Mukwege, Winnie Byanyima and more, will take place on Thursday October 20th starting at 6:45 PM EDT.
To register, for free, click here
In 2022 Rigoberta Menchú Tum is celebrating 30 years as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She received the honour in 1992.
Jody Williams is marking 25 years as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She was awarded the honour in 1997.
Nobel Women’s Initiative has a new website!
https://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org
Showcasing 16 years of supporting women peacebuilders around the globe – find out more about our legacy and what we’re doing now. Sign up for regular email updates here