OSLO (Reuters) – Declaring women’s rights vital for world peace, the Nobel Committee awarded its annual Peace Prize on Friday to three indomitable female campaigners against war and oppression — a Yemeni and two Liberians, including that country’s president.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first woman freely elected as a head of state in Africa, shared the award worth $1.5 million with compatriot Leymah Gbowee, who promoted a “sex strike” among efforts to end Liberia’s civil war, and Yemen’s Tawakul Karman, who called her honor “a victory for the Arab Spring.”