Last Friday, a courageous woman's effort in her work of upholding the principles of democracy and human rights were acknowledged globally. From a record field of 165 candidates, Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize - arguably the most eminent out of over three hundred peace prizes in the world - for her consistent efforts in upholding democracy and human rights. Amongst her achievements, she was appointed as the first woman judge in Iran before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and her area of work focuses on women and children's human rights.

Her success has been received with mixed feelings by those who supported her seminal work and those who viewed her as a trouble-rousing dissident in her home country. This is an unsurprising response, considering the fact that many Laureates have been prominent controversial figures in national and international political arenas, often in the midst of conflict. Nonetheless, the Nobel Peace Prize has brought critical global attention to contemporary figures that have by and large, made significant efforts in the advancement of peace for more than a century. This include the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan, to name a few.

So what exactly is the Nobel Peace Prize? It is one of the five prizes that were instituted by Alfred Nobel - an eminent technological researcher and inventor - in his last will and testament through the establishment of the Nobel Institute. Not only was he a successful scientist who owned more than 350 patents with companies in more than 20 countries worldwide, he was also a great lover of literature and had an extensive political network. As such, he willed that the Nobel prizes were to be awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind" in the five areas which he was intimate with and believed could achieve such purpose - Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Peace. The Peace Prize was to be awarded to persons or institutions that had been working for "fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses"; and includes a medal, certificate as well as sizeable prize money.

The global acclaim that the Nobel Peace Prize receives also gives it the ability to signal certain shifts in the philosophy of peace. Where in the initial years it was focused on international legal tradition of peace organisation, it has now broadened to include humanitarian work done in communities on the basis of human rights. However, has it also reflected the contribution of women to this largely perceived as publicly political sphere?

Apparently not. Shirin Ebadi is only the 11th woman to have received the award since its inception in 1901. This is despite the fact that the award was said to be inspired by Alfred Nobel's friend, Baroness von Suttner; whose efforts in advocating for peace during the World War I was finally acknowledged in 1905, making her the first woman to receive the Peace Prize.

War and conflict, the dark mirror of peace, has always been seen as a masculine domain, with men as active participants and women generally as victims. Although this may be largely true, women's pacifism and participation in the promotion of peace as well as human rights has been profoundly ignored. As such, the validity and legitimacy of their very real and often, lifetime work have been left off the pages of history. More urgently, it creates a great obstacle for women to have access into peace processes, cutting resources into this important area of humanity by half.

It was 26 years later before the second woman, Jane Addams, was honored with the Prize for her role in pioneering social work in America, as well as her advocacy of women's rights and peace. Afterwhich, Emily Green Balch shared the prize with John Mott fifteen years later for her indisputable and extensive contributions towards peace and humanitarian efforts leading towards World War II. Thirty awards passed before the next women received due recognition in 1976. Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan became Laureates for their lead in peaceful marches by ordinary citizens against the violent conflict in Northern Ireland.

Since then, the gap in years have arguably narrowed with awarding of Mother Teresa in 1979 due to her well documented work in the slums of Calcutta, Alva Myrdal in 1982 for her lifetime's persuasive work on disarmament and women's liberation, Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991 while she was still placed under house arrest, Rigoberta Menchú Tum the following year "in recognition of her work for social justice and ethnocultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples", Jody Williams in 1997 for her leading role in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and finally this year, to Shirin Ebadi.

On this encouraging note, one can hope that the activism, sacrifice and bravery of women in ending violence, conflict and war will no longer be largely invisible to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in particular, and more importantly, to the global community at large.

(For more information about the Nobel Peace Prize and contributions of the Laureates, visit the Nobel Prize website)

Jaclyn Kee
19 October 2003

Fortnightly Column by WAO on Sunday Mail (Reprinted with permission from Sunday Mail)