What inspires Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee to fight injustice
Gbowee is known for rallying women to pressure leaders into ending Liberia's civil war.
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Transcript
Leymah: “My faith is very important to me. The values that guide my work, they are very important to me.”
Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee was one of three women awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for their work to advance the safety and rights of women and their participation in peace-building processes.
Leymah: “For me, it’s important not just to go out there and talk, but that my talk is matched with the action. I don’t think I would be where I am if I didn’t have my faith in God. Yes, injustice persists and man has made a mess of the world that we find ourselves in. The total sum of the work that we do is to be able to step out and encourage other people. Give people hope, you know, to be the hand of God, to be the feet of God in this world, and to give people hope in humanity again. So for me, sometimes I’m going out in the field, I’m a little bit afraid. And you know what? We just have to go. And then you go in there cautiously, but then you meet people who need you in that moment to bring their messages outside. And you tell yourself, as tired or as afraid as I am, I’m not going to allow this to stop me. I know that whatever I do, I’m trying to do what God has asked or called me to do.
Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee was one of three women awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for their work to advance the safety and rights of women and their participation in peace-building processes.
Leymah: “For me, it’s important not just to go out there and talk, but that my talk is matched with the action. I don’t think I would be where I am if I didn’t have my faith in God. Yes, injustice persists and man has made a mess of the world that we find ourselves in. The total sum of the work that we do is to be able to step out and encourage other people. Give people hope, you know, to be the hand of God, to be the feet of God in this world, and to give people hope in humanity again. So for me, sometimes I’m going out in the field, I’m a little bit afraid. And you know what? We just have to go. And then you go in there cautiously, but then you meet people who need you in that moment to bring their messages outside. And you tell yourself, as tired or as afraid as I am, I’m not going to allow this to stop me. I know that whatever I do, I’m trying to do what God has asked or called me to do.