Thaindian News

Islamabad, Oct 9 (IANS) Pakistani women should “step forward and prove themselves in life” by taking a cue from the three women who share this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said a daily.

The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly Friday to three women — Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, African activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemen’s Tawakkul Karman.

An editorial in The Nation said: “The fact that three women have won one of the most sought after awards in the world and that too for peace making, is but a confirmation of the fact that women are no less capable than men of leading the people.”

“Hopefully this will lead to women empowerment around the world and particularly in this part of the globe, where the conventional wisdom and even certain norms tend to stereotype women as lesser human beings…,” it added.

The editorial stressed that Pakistani women “should take a cue from the example of these Nobel Peace Prize winners and move ahead to play their part”.

“Just like these women did service to their own countries and achieved the coveted prize, our women could also step forward and prove themselves in life’s different ways.”

Pakistan has a population more than 170 million, over half of which are women.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Africa’s first democratically elected female president. Since her inauguration in 2006, she has contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women, the Nobel website said.

Leymah Gbowee mobilised and organised women across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women’s participation in elections. She has since worked to enhance the influence of women in West Africa during and after war.

In the most trying circumstances, both before and during the “Arab spring”, Tawakkul Karman has played a leading part in the struggle for women’s rights and for democracy and peace in Yemen.