Helen Mirren says it is 'shameful' that just 12 women have won Nobel Peace Prize

Actress Helen Mirren, acknowledged it as “an extraordinary moment” when three women were honoured with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize on Sunday night, but said it was “shameful” that very few women had ever been given the award, since its inception in 1901.

The 66-year-old hosted the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Norway along with American actress Rosario Dawson held in honour of this year’s winners - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, women’s rights activist Leymah Gbowee, from Liberia, and democracy activist Tawakkul Karman, from Yemen.

Speaking before the event, she said the award marks an ‘‘extraordinary moment in the history of women’’ but looking at the figures statistically it was very “shameful” that only a handful of women have won the Nobel Peace Prize so far.

‘‘slightly shameful statistically that only 12 women have won it in 112 years, when you think how important women historically have always been, specifically in terms of peace,’’ The Telegraph quoted her as saying.

‘‘It is only a step on a journey that women are taking, and hopefully in 20-30 years’ time we will be looking at a very different scenario in the world.

‘‘In my personal experience, wherever there was a force for the positive, for creativity, it was almost always led by women and they are doing it with no recognition and under very difficult circumstances.

‘‘It is so important for all of us to realise that these movements start in very, very small ways,’’ she added.