Peacekeepers: Photos of Female Nobel Peace Prize Winners

These women dedicated their lives to improving the world.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — 2011 - Last week, Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”BET.com takes a look at other extraordinary women who were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their leadership, courage and moral example.Sirleaf was elected president in 2005 and came to power as the country was still reeling from the effects of a 14-year civil war that ended in 2003 and claimed thousands of lives. During Sirleaf’s tenure, Liberia’s education, infrastructure and health care have all improved considerably. "This gives me a stronger commitment to work for reconciliation," Sirleaf said Friday from her home in Monrovia after hearing of the award. "Liberians sho...

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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — 2011 - Last week, Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”BET.com takes a look at other extraordinary women who were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their leadership, courage and moral example.Sirleaf was elected president in 2005 and came to power as the country was still reeling from the effects of a 14-year civil war that ended in 2003 and claimed thousands of lives. During Sirleaf’s tenure, Liberia’s education, infrastructure and health care have all improved considerably. "This gives me a stronger commitment to work for reconciliation," Sirleaf said Friday from her home in Monrovia after hearing of the award. "Liberians sho...

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Leymah Gbowee —  2011 - Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian activist who is credited with helping to end Liberia’s brutal civil war by organizing the country’s women.  In 2003, she led hundreds of female protesters through Monrovia, seeking disarmament of fighters who preyed on women throughout Liberia during 14 years of civil war. She established the Women Peace and Security Network Africa in Accra, Ghana in 2007, where she now serves as director.(Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

Tawakul Karman —  2011 - Tawakul Karman is a 32-year-old activist from the Middle Eastern nation of Yemen who has been leading peaceful protests against the government since 2007. This year, Karman became the female face of the Arab Spring. (Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)

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Tawakul Karman —  2011 - Tawakul Karman is a 32-year-old activist from the Middle Eastern nation of Yemen who has been leading peaceful protests against the government since 2007. This year, Karman became the female face of the Arab Spring. (Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)

Wangari Maathai - Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner and environmentalist Wangari Maathai, 71, died on September 25. Maathai founded The Green Belt Movement, a grassroots non-governmental organization based in Kenya that focused on environmental conservation; she was known as a civil rights and women's rights activist and also served as a Member of Parliament.(Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images)

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Wangari Maathai —  2004 - Kenyan environmentalist and human rights activist Wangari Maathai received the prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an organization that uses tree planting to spark community involvement in environmental conservation, and worked to bring awareness to the link between environmental degradation and poverty. She died in September 2011. (Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for NAACP)

Shirin Ebadi —  2003 - Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi was a Nobel laureate in 2003 for her efforts promoting democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children.Ebadi was the first woman to serve as a judge in Iran’s courts and has fought against gender discrimination for decades. She now works as a human rights lawyer and advocate and a university professor. (Photo: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

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Shirin Ebadi —  2003 - Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi was a Nobel laureate in 2003 for her efforts promoting democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children.Ebadi was the first woman to serve as a judge in Iran’s courts and has fought against gender discrimination for decades. She now works as a human rights lawyer and advocate and a university professor. (Photo: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

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Jody Williams —  1997 - American Jody Williams received the award in 1997 for her global work in banning and clearing deadly anti-personnel land mines.Williams is the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and has written and spoken extensively on the problem.(Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

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Jody Williams —  1997 - American Jody Williams received the award in 1997 for her global work in banning and clearing deadly anti-personnel land mines.Williams is the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and has written and spoken extensively on the problem.(Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

Rigoberta Menchú Tum — 1992 - Guatemalan activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum received the prize in 1992 for her work fostering social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation .Menchú has become widely known as an advocate of Indian rights, not only in Guatemala but in the Western Hemisphere generally, and her work has earned her several international awards.(Photo: REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez)

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Rigoberta Menchú Tum — 1992 - Guatemalan activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum received the prize in 1992 for her work fostering social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation .Menchú has become widely known as an advocate of Indian rights, not only in Guatemala but in the Western Hemisphere generally, and her work has earned her several international awards.(Photo: REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez)

Aung San Suu Kyi — 1991 - Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma) was honored in 1991 for her nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights in her native country.Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for more than 20 years for her role in challenging the military government.(Photo: Drn/Getty Images)

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Aung San Suu Kyi — 1991 - Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma) was honored in 1991 for her nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights in her native country.Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for more than 20 years for her role in challenging the military government.(Photo: Drn/Getty Images)

Mother Teresa — 1979 - One of the award’s most famed recipients, Mother Teresa was recognized in 1979 for her humanitarian work.An Albanian Catholic nun, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to helping the poor, sick, orphaned and dying, and founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, which she later expanded to other countries. At the time of her death in 1997, the Missionaries of Charity had 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages and schools. (Photo: Kamal Kishore/Reuters)

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Mother Teresa — 1979 - One of the award’s most famed recipients, Mother Teresa was recognized in 1979 for her humanitarian work.An Albanian Catholic nun, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to helping the poor, sick, orphaned and dying, and founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, which she later expanded to other countries. At the time of her death in 1997, the Missionaries of Charity had 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages and schools. (Photo: Kamal Kishore/Reuters)