Science
Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist treating victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nadia Murad, a Yazidi human rights activist and survivor of sexual slavery by Islamic State in Iraq, won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it had awarded them the prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
Updated : Oct 05, 2018, 02:51 PM IST
Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist treating victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nadia Murad, a Yazidi human rights activist and survivor of sexual slavery by Islamic State in Iraq, won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it had awarded them the prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
"Both laureates have made a crucial contribution to focusing attention on, and combating, such war crimes," it said in its citation. Mukwege, a gynecologist treating victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leads the Panzi Hospital in the eastern city of Bukavu.
Opened in 1999, the clinic receives thousands of women each year, many of them requiring surgery from sexual violence. Murad is an advocate for the Yazidi minority in Iraq and for refugee and women's rights in general. She was enslaved and raped by Islamic State fighters in Mosul in 2014. The prize will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.
BREAKING NEWS:
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2018
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. #NobelPrize #NobelPeacePrize pic.twitter.com/LaICSbQXWM
Watch the moment the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize is announced.
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2018
Presented by Berit Reiss-Andersen, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. pic.twitter.com/fIv2yWPxE6
Denis Mukwege’s basic principle is that “justice is everyone’s business”. The 2018 Peace Laureate is the foremost, most unifying symbol, both nationally and internationally, of the struggle to end sexual violence in war and armed conflicts. @DenisMukwege#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/KSzecKSkUc
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2018
Following her escape from IS, Peace Laureate Nadia Murad chose to speak openly about what she had suffered. In 2016, at the age of just 23, she was named the UN’s first Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. @NadiaMuradBasee#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/wgEjOxRHS9
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2018
Nadia Murad, awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, is the witness who tells of the abuses perpetrated against herself and others. She has shown uncommon courage in recounting her own sufferings and speaking up on behalf of other victims.#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/NeF70ig09J
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2018
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which announced this year's prize, had received nominations for 216 individuals and 115 organizations. Among those put forward this year were the Syrian civilian aid group White Helmets, Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper, Edward Snowden and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Last year's winner was the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. The 2018 prize is worth 9 million Swedish kronor ($1.01 million). Past winners who came under criticism include former U.S. President Barack Obama, who won in 2009 after less than a year in office.
With inputs from Reuters