23 RI women nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Twenty three Indonesian women activists have been nominated for this year's prestigious Nobel Peace Prize by the Association 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005.

Samsidar and Kamala Chandrakirana -- both from the National Commission on Violence Against Women -- Nursyahbani Katjasungkana from the Indonesian Women's Coalition and Galuh Wandita from the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation are some of the activists whose names were included on the Nobel nomination list.

"I learned that women have their own way of avoiding war and creating peace," says Samsidar, secretary-general of the Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women.

Samsidar, a women's activist who is involved in issues like violence against women, reconciliation initiatives and trauma healing, has been working in isolated areas and even many Indonesians may not know her name or her organization.

Thanks to a Swiss government initiative, Samsidar and another 999 women from across the globe were jointly nominated for this year's prestigious Nobel Peace Prize

The names of the 1,000 women and their short biographies can be found on the website www.1000peacewomen.org.

The official nomination of 1,000 women from more than 150 countries was handed to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo in January 2005.

"The number 1,000 is symbolic, as the 1,000 nominated women represent innumerable women worldwide who are engaged in the cause of peace and human dignity," Olin Monteiro, the person in charge for 1000 Women for Nobel Prize campaign in Jakarta, said in a press statement sent to The Jakarta Post.

"The nominated women commit themselves daily to the cause of peace and justice, often under the most difficult circumstances. They call for reconciliation and organize peace talks, they rebuild what has been destroyed in villages and cities, they fight against poverty and create new sources of income. They struggle for access to clean water, land and other resources. They care for those infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and give war orphans a home. They denounce violations of human rights and publicly condemn all forms of torture. They hold silent protests in public places and seek solutions to all forms of aggression," the statement said.

Though it began as a Swiss initiative in 2003, the campaign to nominate 1,000 women for the Nobel Prize has become a project supported globally, thanks to the commendable work of coordinators and many volunteers from 20 regions around the world.

The establishment of the Association 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 has boosted the campaign. The ambitious association is seeking public support for its campaign for these remarkable 1,000 women who represent millions of women worldwide who are engaged in the cause of peace and human dignity.

" There are millions of peace women! It is in their name that 1,000 women shall receive this prestigious political prize. On the way to the Nobel Peace Prize, they and we are dependent on the support, the ideas, and the benevolence of a broad-based public commitment," the president of the Association 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, who is also a member of the Swiss Parliament and the Council of Europe, said at the time of the establishment of the association in April 2003 in Bern.

For the last two years, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to women.

Last year, Kenya's environmental and human rights activist Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize for her untiring work to protect the environment in Kenya and Africa.

In 2003, Iran's leading women's lawyer and human rights campaigner Shirin Ebadi won the prize.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is scheduled to announce the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 14.

The prize, which includes 10 million Swedish kronor (US$1.3 million), is awarded in Oslo on Dec. 10 each year.