Leymah Gbowee
A Liberian social worker who mobilized thousands of women in white to force a brutal warlord to the peace table.
Born 1972 (age 54)·Liberian peace activist·Birthday: February 1·Generation X
Biography
Leymah Gbowee's story is one of transformative courage, where a trauma counselor became the general of a peaceful army. Working with child soldiers during Liberia's civil war, she saw the conflict's core devastation. In 2002, she had a dream that instructed her to 'gather the women' to pray for peace. Heeding that call, she helped found the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, a movement that crossed Christian and Muslim lines. Dressed in plain white T-shirts, the women staged silent sit-ins, confronted armed fighters, and famously staged a sex strike. Their most daring act was surrounding the hall where peace talks were stagnating, linking arms and refusing to let the negotiators leave until a deal was signed. This relentless, nonviolent pressure was crucial in ending the war and paving the way for the election of Africa's first modern female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. For turning collective grief into unstoppable political force, Gbowee was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Leymah was born in 1972, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Leymah Was Born
The biggest hits of 1972
#1 Movie
The Godfather
Best Picture
The Godfather
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Leymah's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1972Born
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1977Started school
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1985Became a teenager
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Could drive
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1990Could vote
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1993Turned 21
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2002Turned 30
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 40
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 50
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 54 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-led the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, a nonviolent movement instrumental in ending the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.
- Awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize alongside Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Tawakkul Karman.
- Founded the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, which provides educational and leadership opportunities for women and youth.
- Her leadership is chronicled in the documentary film 'Pray the Devil Back to Hell.'
Did You Know?
She initially trained as a trauma counselor to help rehabilitate child soldiers during the civil war.
Gbowee is the author of a powerful memoir titled 'Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War.'
She is a mother of six children.
The women's peace movement she helped lead famously organized a 'sex strike' as a tactic to pressure men into supporting peace.
“We are tired of war. We are tired of running. We are tired of begging for bulgur wheat. We are tired of our children being raped. We are now taking this stand, to secure the future of our children.”
