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Nobel Women’s Initiative Update – May to July, 2011
The Nobel Women’s Initiative Quarterly Update is available now!
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Read more »Nobel Women's Initiative Update: October 2010 to January 2011
The Nobel Women's Initiative Quarterly Update is available now!
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Read more »Nobel Women's Initiative Update: July - September, 2010
The Nobel Women's Initiative Update for July through September, 2010, is available now!
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Nobel Women's Initiative Update: April - June, 2010
The Nobel Women's Initiative Update for January through March, 2010, is available now!
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Read more »Nobel Women's Initiative Update: January - March, 2010
The Nobel Women's Initiative Update for January through March, 2010, is available now! Check your inbox or read it on the web.
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Nobel Women's Initiative Update November 2009
Nobel Women's Initiative Update, July 2009
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Read more »Nobel Women's Initiative Update - December 2008
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Nobel Women's Initiative Update - 9 December 2008
In Recent News
First Global Treaty Banning Cluster Bombs Signed in Oslo
Eleven years to the day following the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty, over 90 countries gathered last week in Oslo to sign the first global treaty on banning cluster bombs. Countries signing the historic document included Laos, Lebanon, the United Kingdom and—at the last minute—Afghanistan. The Convention on Clusters Munitions sets the highest standard to date in international law for assistance to victims and their communities. Nobel Laureate Jody Williams and the Nobel Women’s Initiative supported the process leading up to the signing. Now, Williams and other activists are encouraging countries to ratify the treaty—and move quickly ahead with implementation.
Learn more at www.stopclustermunitions.org.
Nobel Laureates Speak out on Darfur: Op-Ed in the Guardian
The on-line version of the Guardian (UK) last week published an editorial on Darfur by Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams. Ebadi and Williams argue that the UN Security Council should offer its full support for the International Criminal Court’s efforts to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir: “The people of Darfur deserve – and have clearly voiced a desire for – justice and accountability. And while the ICC is not the only vehicle for justice, it is the only vehicle right now.”
Read the full op-ed by clicking here.
Release Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Laureates Ask for UN Action
Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and Shirin Ebadi in November 2008- highlighted the imprisonment of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in New York. Photo by Judy Rand.
Recent events in the Congo prevented UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon from meeting with a delegation of Nobel Peace Laureates last month in New York. So instead Jody Williams and her sister Laureates sent Ki Moon a letter, calling on him to do everything in his power to “secure the release of our sister Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and address the use of rape as a tactic of war in Burma”.
To read the full text of the letter, click here.
Nobel Laureates Call for End to Targeting of Iranian Women Activists
The Nobel Women’s Initiative stepped up its call last month for the end to the harassment and arrest of women human rights defenders in Iran. This followed the notable targeting of members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, including Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi. The Campaign is a grassroots movement launched over two years ago to promote gender equality in Iranian laws. Other members include Iranian-American student Esha Momeni, arrested by Iranian authorities on October 15. Almost a month later, authorities released Momeni on bail. To date, however, they are still holding Momeni’s travel documents and she is unable to leave the country.
Meanwhile, the website of the Campaign has received the Reporters Without Borders Jury Prize of the Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards - The BOBs.
Learn more about the Campaign here: www.change4equality.com/english
Nobel Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire Visits Gaza
In October, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire embarked on a four-day visit to Gaza with the Free Gaza Movement. The group arrived in Gaza on a ship carrying medicine, to bear witness to the humanitarian crisis there. She notes: “We as the human family must all learn to deal with our fears non-violently, and realize that our best hope for human security is not in occupation and siege, but in reaching out to make justice and our enemy our friend.”To download Mairead Corrigan Maguire’s full report, click here.
Take Action
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is coming to a close. The bookend dates-- November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day-- were chosen to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. Since its inception, over 2,000 organizations in approximately 154 countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign.
Join UNIFEM's global movement and sign your name to the Say NO to Violence Against Women campaign!
Recent Events
Shirin Ebadi and Iranian Activist Women Speak at AWID Forum
A group of Iranian women activists—including Shirin Ebadi— discussed the One Million Signature Campaign with other women activists gathered for the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) 11th International Forum held November 14 to 17in Cape Town, South Africa. They joined Nobel Women’s Initiative staff and more than 2,000 women’s rights leaders and activists from more than 140 countries. The theme of the event was The Power of Movements. Ebadi and the young Iranian activists used their workshop to launch a provoking, inspiring video introducing the Campaign to a wider audience.
Campaign videos are now posted on the Change for Equality website at www.change4equality.com/english.
While in South Africa, Ebadi also published on op-ed, Peace and Justice Go Together, in South Africa's Mail and Guardian on the International Criminal Court and Sudan.
Nobel Women’s Initiative Honored by US Magazine for Empowering Women
Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and Shirin Ebadi at 2008 Glamour Women of the Year Awards.The US Magazine Glamour awarded the Nobel Women’s Initiative the ‘Women of the Year Award’ on November 10 at a celebrity-studded event at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The organization was honored for its work to “empower women around the globe to fight violence, inequality and injustice In accepting the award, Jody Williams—along with sister Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Rigoberta Menchu Tum—noted that the seventh Laureate—Aung San Suu Kyi—remains under house arrest in Burma.
To learn more, check out the Glamour magazine article Nobel Women’s Initiative: The Peacemakers.
New Report from NWI
The report from NWI’s peace delegation this past summer to the Thai-Burma border, Sudan and Chad is now available!
Please click here to read a PDF version of the report, or contact us directly for a print copy.
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NWI Thanks Our Supporters for A Successful 2008!
We couldn’t have done it without you. This year we led a delegation to the Thai-Burma border, Sudan and Chad, greatly expanded our global advocacy work on peace, justice and equality—and grew our staff and resources! Our success is thanks to the many inspiring activists, volunteers and supporters who believe that a nonviolent world of security, equality and wellbeing for all is possible. Thank you!
Help Make a Difference in 2009
We invite you to join our efforts by making a contribution to the Nobel Women's Initiative. Your donation will help continue our work in 2009, as we seek to open new ground for discussion, debate and change.
Click here to donate.
Learn More About NWI
Visit our website to learn more about NWI - issues, news, media, and ways you can take action.
The Mission of the NWI is to work together as women Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to use the visibility and prestige of the Nobel prize to
Nobel Women's Initiative Update - October 2008
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Nobel Women's Initiative Update - 10 October 2008
In Recent News
Women's Peace Delegation to the UN: Act Now on Darfur, Burma
Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai and Jody Williams—along with actress-activist Mia Farrow—were at the United Nations on September 29 to call for immediate action to end the crises in Darfur and Burma. They also launched a report, detailing recommendations developed by the Nobel Women’s Initiative during its 3-week delegation this past summer to the Thai-Burma border, Ethiopia, Sudan and Eastern Chad. The women called on world leaders and the Security Council not to bow to pressure and delay justice to the people of Darfur. They also called for the international community—especially China—to stop supporting the campaign of violence against Burma’s ethnic nationalities, including the use of rape as a weapon of war.
Visit our website to read the media release.
Honoring the One-Year Anniversary of the Saffron Revolution
The Nobel Women’s Initiative launched a video on September 22 to mark the one-year anniversary of Burma’s nationwide nonviolent protests, dubbed the Saffron Revolution. In the video, Nobel Laureates Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu, Dr. Shirin Ebadi and Betty Williams call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Burma, including Sister laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. They also repeat their call for the military junta to heed the groundswell of support for democracy in Burma.Watch the video on our web site or check it out on the Encyclopedia Britannica blog.
Women Peace Laureates Support National Peace Council in Iran
We oppose any military action or threats of military action against Iran. We also demand a negotiated resolution to the current standoff between Iran and the United States. Those were the strong messages expressed in a statement released by the Nobel Women’s Initiative on June 30th in support of the National Peace Council. The National Peace Council is the brainchild of prominent Iranian intellectuals, academics, dissidents and other human rights defenders—including Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Shirin Ebadi.Read the full statement of support on our website.
Take Action
Urge Iran to halt threats against Shirin Ebadi and family
The Iranian regime has stepped up its campaign against Shirin Ebadi. On August 8, 2008, an article was published on the website of the official Iranian Republic News Agency (IRNA) leveling a series of attacks against Dr. Ebadi and her family, including false accusations that her daughter converted to the Bahai faith, and appeared to be related to Dr. Ebadi’s decision to defend in court seven members of the Bahai minority in Iran.
On August 11 the Nobel Women's Initiative issued a statement condemning such accusations against her.
In September, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs canceled a series of university lectures by Ebadi. The Iranian Foreign Ministry pressured their Malaysian counterparts, warning "Her public speaking engagements in Malaysia would cause a disruption of the good relations between the governments of Malaysia and Iran."
On October 1, while Ebadi was in Germany receiving the "tolerance prize", the IRNA warned that Ebadi was exploiting the "patience and tolerance" of government authorities.
Click here to demand an end the Iranian regime's attempts to intimidate and silence Ebadi and other human rights defenders.
Sign the People’s Treaty to Ban Cluster Bombs!
Only eight weeks left for your country to decide if it will sign the new clusters munitions treaty! The new treaty was unanimously adopted by 107 participating states on May 30th. But that treaty won’t become binding international law until those countries sign on the dotted line. A vote from you on the People’s Treaty will help ensure that your country does the right thing. Do your part to help ban cluster munitions now! You can also write your government to ask that they participate in the Oslo Conference where the treaty will be signed.
Find out more by visiting www.stopclustermunitions.org.
Recent Events
More Than 2,000 Students Join Laureates at ‘Peace Jam’
High school students from around the world joined six Nobel Peace Laureates from September 11 to 13 in Los Angeles. They were taking part in the 2008 Peace Jam Global Call to Action Conference—an ambitious event aimed at nothing less than changing the world. The conference is part of a youth movement that brings Peace Laureates together with youth to address some of the toughest issues today, including securing the rights of women and restoring the environment. The movement involves mobilizing the global community to initiate one billion 'acts of peace' over the next 10 years. With guidance from the Laureates, the students are busy organizing 'Global Call to Action Projects' that they will carry out in their local communities. Laureates attending this year’s Peace Jam included Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Jody Williams, Betty Williams and Shirin Ebadi—as well as the esteemed Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Adolfo Perez Esquivel of Argentina.
Visit our website to learn more about NWI - issues, news, media, and ways you can take action. To unsubscribe from future updates of the Nobel Women's Initiative, send an email to info@nobelwomensinitiative.org.
Thank you for your support
The Mission of the NWI is to work together as women Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to use the visibility and prestige of the Nobel prize to