# Four Women and Women-Led Groups Win the 2026 Alternative Nobel Prize

> Source: https://positivity.org/good-news/four-women-and-women-led-groups-win-the-2026-alternative-nobel-prize

![](https://positivity.org/media/2026/10/Positivity---2026-10-06T114359-736-c29f3859.webp)

## The 2026 Right Livelihood Award—people sometimes call it the “Alternative Nobel Prize”—is shining a spotlight on four women and women-led groups who are fighting for a fairer, more sustainable world.

This time, the honorees come from **Pakistan, Southern Africa, Georgia, and the United States**. Their work touches everything from human rights and democracy to rural development and tech’s growing impact on our lives.

Here are this year’s recipients: **Jalila Haider, the Rural Women’s Assembly, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), and AI researcher Timnit Gebru.**

## Meet the 2026 Right Livelihood Award Recipients

Let’s break that down a bit:

### Jalila Haider

Jalila Haider comes from Pakistan’s Hazara community. She’s a human rights lawyer and, bravely, the first woman in her community to take up the law.

She’s worked hard to defend vulnerable people and take on big systems of ethnic, state, and patriarchal discrimination.

### Rural Women’s Assembly

The Rural Women’s Assembly represents more than **178,000 small-scale farmers—spread out across 11 countries in Southern Africa.**

It’s not just about growing food; they fight for:

- Land
- Seeds
- Sustainable food systems
- Women’s rights

All while lifting up rural communities.

### Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA)

Then there’s the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association.

They’re relentless in their push for **democracy, human rights, and justice in Georgia**.

They’re also the **first organization from Georgia to ever receive this award.**

### Timnit Gebru

And finally, Timnit Gebru, who works in the United States.

She’s become a key voice in AI, pushing back against the concentration of power in tech and reminding researchers to put **justice, real human experience, and human agency** at the center of what they create.

## What Ties These Stories Together?

What ties all these stories together is **courage and fresh ideas**.

Real change doesn’t just come from governments or massive companies—it starts when someone notices a problem and refuses to look away.

Think about it:

- A lawyer speaks up for the vulnerable.
- Farmers protect their land and way of life.
- Groups defend democracy.
- Researchers question the direction technology is taking.

That’s how progress begins.

## A Global Recognition of Local Action

This year, there were **200 nominations from 72 countries**.

Out of all those, these four were chosen.

They’ll be honored in **Stockholm on December 1**.

> And they remind us: you don’t need a giant platform to spark real change.

Sometimes, it starts with someone deciding that something better is possible—and then doing something about it.

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