Maathai is 12th woman to win Nobel Peace Prize

Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai became the 12th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday when she received the award for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.

Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai became the 12th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday when she received the award for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.

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Following is a list of previous female laureates since the prize was set up in 1901.

2003 - Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights lawyer
1997 - Jody Williams, U.S. coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
1992 - Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemalan human rights leader
1991 - Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar opposition leader
1982 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish minister for disarmament
1979 - Mother Teresa of Calcutta
1976 - Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, co-leaders of the "Community of Peace People", a movement to end sectarian violence in Northern Ireland
1946 - Emily Greene Balch, U.S. honorary international president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
1931 - Jane Addams, U.S. international president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
1905 - Bertha Sophie Felicita von Suttner, Austrian honorary president of the Permanent International Peace Bureau