Samar May Win Nobel Prize for Advocacy of Afghan Women’s Rights

Human rights advocate Sima Samar may become the first person from Afghanistan to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote women’s health and education, according to the International Peace Research Institute.

Samar, 53, is the “top pick,” said Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the Oslo-based institute, which ranks potential winners. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the United Nation’s Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security and “it’s very likely the committee would like to use the opportunity to mark the situation of women in war, the whole gender issue related to conflict,” Berg Harpviken said in a telephone interview.