Nobel Peace Prize to Denis Mukwege, Nadia Murad for fighting sexual violence

The 2018 Nobel Peace prize has been awarded to Congolese gynecological surgeon Denis Mukwege and Yazidi woman Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that the two were given the award “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.”

As per the Nobel Committee, the winners have been chosen from among 331 nominations (216 individuals and 115 organisations) which is the second highest number of nominees ever.

The prize carries nine million Swedish kronor ($1.01 million).

“Dr. Mukwege, who risked his life in a campaign to end the use of mass rape as a weapon of war, works in one of the most traumatized places in the world: the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,” wrote the New York Times.

“In a bare hospital in the hills above Bukavu, where for years there was little electricity or enough anaesthetic, Dr. Mukwege has performed surgery on countless women who have trudged into his hospital a few steps away from death. At the same time, he has campaigned relentlessly to shine a spotlight on the plight of Congolese women, even after nearly being assassinated a few years ago,” it added.

Nadia Murad along with many other Yazidi women was abducted by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISI) terrorists when they later overran her homeland in northern Iraq in 2014. She was singled out for rape by the group, claimed the New York Times.

“Whereas the majority of women who escaped ISIS refused to be named, Murad insisted to reporters that she wanted to be identified and photographed. She embarked on a worldwide campaign, telling and retelling her story of suffering to the United Nations Security Council, the United States House of Representatives, Britain’s House of Commons and numerous other global bodies,” reported the New York Times.

As per the data available with the Norwegian Nobel Committee, with the announcement of two names, the number of peace prizes awarded till now becomes 100, with 133 winners (106 individuals and 27 organisations).

Founded by Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature.

Since March 1901 it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) to those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”