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#2022NobelPrize

Nobel Prize Announcements to Take Place from 3–10 October

As a global feminist peace organisation, WILPF looks forward to the announcement of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize on 7 October – an award with which we have a long and storied history.

Image credit: WILPF
  • 3 min
WILPF International Secretariat
30 September 2022

Monday 3 October marks the start of the 2022 Nobel Prize announcements, which will take place from 3 to 10 October. Over the course of the next week, the Nobel Prize Committee will announce this year’s winners in the five Nobel Prize categories of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.

Jane Addams and Emily Greene Balch

In 1931 and 1946, two of WILPF’s pioneering members – Jane Addams and Emily Greene Balch – became the second and third women to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1931, Addams – WILPF’s first international president – won the prize alongside Columbia University president Nicholas Murray Butler in recognition of their “assiduous effort to revive the ideal of peace and to rekindle the spirit of peace in their own nation and in the whole of mankind.”

Just the second woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Addams devoted her life to advocating for universal peace and disarmament. Fearless and outspoken, she was once accused by the FBI of attempting to “emasculate national security” by calling for an end to war and conflict, and was even called “the most dangerous woman in America.”

In 1946, WILPF’s first international secretary, Emily Greene Balch, became the second WILPF member and third woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for “her lifelong work for the cause of peace.”

Regarded at the time as a dangerous radical by the US government, Balch was a self-professed socialist and anti-war campaigner. She worked closely with Jane Addams during World War I to call for a peaceful solution to the conflict, and remained a devoted member of WILPF from its founding until her death in 1961.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

WILPF’s history with the Nobel Peace Prize did not end with Emily Greene Balch. In 2017, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) – of which WILPF is an international steering group member – won the prize in recognition of its efforts to drive progress towards a nuclear-free world.

ICAN played a critical role in advocating for the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international agreement to outlaw nuclear weapons with the goal of total nuclear disarmament. The Treaty entered into force on 22 January 2021.

Through WILPF’s disarmament programme, Reaching Critical Will, we were proud to be part of these efforts and remain a committed member of ICAN.

WILPF Norway member celebrates and recognises women nominees of the Nobel Peace Prize

In total, Nobel Prizes in all categories have been awarded 609 times to 975 people and organisations since 1901. Of the awardees, just 58 have been women.

In her book Women and the Nobel Peace Prize, long-time WILPF Norway member and professor of political science Ingunn Norderval examines the lives and legacies of 36 women nominees of the Nobel Peace Prize, including Jane Addams and Emily Greene Balch. Norderval also offers analysis of key questions related to peace and the policies of the Nobel Prize Committee as they relate to women.

For more information about WILPF’s history with the Nobel Peace Prize and the movement for feminist peace, access a copy of Norderval’s book and check out WILPF’s Herstory.

Stay tuned for this year’s announcement on 7 October!

We look forward to the announcement of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner on 7 October at 11 CEST. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where we’ll be celebrating the 2022 recipient!

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.