Nobel Women’s Initiative is led by eight women Nobel Peace Prize laureates - Jody Williams (USA), Shirin Ebadi (Iran), Tawakkol Karman (Yemen), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Guatemala), Maria Ressa (Philippines), Narges Mohammadi (Iran) and Oleksandra Matviichuk (Ukraine). Women are crucial to lasting peace, and yet in times of war and conflict they are seen as victims, and too often excluded from formal peace-building processes. The laureates know the importance of women peacebuilders, and the challenges they face firsthand. At NWI they work together to use the platform and access that the Nobel Peace Prize offers to elevate the voices and support the work of women peace activists.
Through our work, we aim to achieve three key outcomes:
Outcome 1: Women Leading Peace Together
Collective power of women’s movement and feminist peace leadership is bolder
“We can always rely on people. Even if we do not have the political tools, our word and commitments always remain. Ordinary people have much more power than they themselves realize.” - Oleksandra Matviichuk.
Outcome 2: Women Influencing Change
Decision-makers recognize and center the priorities of women activists in strategies and policies.
“Women will not give up. We are fuelled by a will to survive. Whether we are inside prison or outside.” — Narges Mohammadi.
Outcome 3: Women Shifting Media Narrative
Women activists and their solutions for peace are more represented in media, transforming dominant narratives
“Without facts we can't have truth.” — Maria Ressa.