On December 10th, three female activists were honored at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway. I of course, like many of my feminist cohort, was excited just to see women chosen for such a prestigious award. But the significance of these three women standing on that stage and discussing their fight for justice was about much more than just their gender. There were two reasons why this year's Nobel Peace Prizer winners were significant. The first was obvious. The second I realized while writing this post.
A few years ago a friend invited me to a screening of a movie after work at the World Affairs Council. Anyone with a full-time job knows how precarious post-work plans can be, since they run up against the need to get to the gym or the grocery store, veg out on the couch, make dinner, get your mom's/sister's/friend's birthday present, go to birthday dinner/drinks, get new shoes, go on a date, etc. etc. etc. Even thought the World Affairs Council is really close to the office I was working in, and our organization had a membership, there were still many events at the WAC that I had "meant" to attend and cancelled at the last minute. But somehow, the heavens (ok, my calendar) cleared, I wasn't overwhelmingly exhausted at the end of the day, and I was satisfied with my shoe collection, so I went.
The movie showing that night was Pray the Devil Back to Hell.
This movie chronicles the story of Liberian peace activists, all women, who came together to end the civil war that had been plaguing this country for years. It features two of the peace prize winners: Leymah Gbowee, a prominent activist, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who, after Charles Taylor was sent packing, became the first female head of a modern African state. Though I had always been an advocate for women's causes, this movie helped me see the sheer power women could have when they fought together. In fact, it inspired me so much that it is one of the main reasons I pursued my degree in international development and gender. I saw an incredible movement of powerful women, not just in Liberia, and I wanted to be part of it.
The second reason that this Nobel Peace Prize was so significant is that it provides justification for studying gender. Contrary to popular belief, gender studies is neither focused entirely on uplifting women nor is it trying to erase differences between men and women. It is, in fact, focused on how gender effects our everyday world, and how our everyday world is effected by it. The women who began to protest the Liberian civil war not because they didn't want to fight, but because they were mothers of the fighters, sick of watching their male children fight and die, and their female children endure sexual assault at the hands of soldiers. Furthermore, when those representing the two sides of the civil war failed to reach a deal, women protesters blockaded the room where the negotiators sat and threatened to take off their shirts (which was considered shameful to the men). It worked. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was recognized for her work in this protest, but also for being the first female head of state in modern Africa - a huge accomplishment. Many people in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Libya have risked their lives to protest despotic rule. And yet a female, considered the "mother" of the movement in Yemen, was the on who finally received the award for her work.
Gender is one of the most significant and fundamental ways the world is ordered, which means it begs to be studied and understood. Even if women and men were considered one another's total and complete equal, this would still be a necessary subject of study. This year's Nobel Peace Prize winners are only further proof of this.
What did you think about the Nobel Peace Prize winners? Were they significant to you? Do you think gender is a necessary subject of study? Why or why not?
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