Leymah Gbowee

Director and Consultant of Women, Peace and Security Network
Co-winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize
Author of Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War

I am heading the Women, Peace and Security Network in Ghana, offering training and counsel to women all over Africa.

In the early years of 2000, my home country of Liberia was in the midst of terrible war and violence. In spite of many promises to make peace, our leaders again and again failed. The women of Liberia were bearing the brunt of the pain of violence, and we decided we had to make a move. I lead a group of women who demanded peace, and we finally effected a change. The story of this movement is now told in the documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

In the midst of this nonviolent peace action, I attended the Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding in 2004, attended a STAR training in 2005, began my MA in Conflict Transformation degree by taking classes in SPI 2006 and graduated in Dec 2007.

Following graduation, I spent time in the U.S. networking with organizations and groups interested in women and peace before returning to Africa where I have settled in Ghana.

This profile was last updated March 22, 2014