GUY RAZ, HOST:
For the first time in history, an Arab woman has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. At a ceremony in Oslo, Norway today, Tawakkul Karman, known as the mother of Yemen's democratic revolution, shared the 2011 prize with two Liberian women: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee, who helped lead the protests that ousted former Liberian President Charles Taylor.
Tawakkul Karman is also the youngest person to win the peace prize. She's just 32. Sirleaf is Africa's first democratically elected female president. She was elected president of Liberia in 2005 and won re-election in October. After receiving her Nobel medal today, Sirleaf raised a call to all women across the world.
ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF: The fact that we, two women from Liberia, are here today to share a stage with a sister from Yemen speaks to the universality of our struggle.
RAZ: In a statement announcing the winners, the Nobel committee said it hoped this prize will help bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.