Just 12 women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in history. But this year three women will share the honor. Arab Spring activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen (left), Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee (right) and Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (center) were named by the Norwegian Nobel Committee “for their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.

“We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.”