South African human rights lawyer Navi Pillay wins the Nobel Peace Prize
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"There is a thread to her involvement in standing and supporting Nelson Mandela and the prisoners of Robben Island, to her being a key to all the major international court cases of our time," he said.
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Born in Durban in 1941, Pillay—who is a South African of Indian-Tamil descent—became the first woman of color to open a legal practice in her home province of Natal, where she defended anti-apartheid activists.

In 1973, she successfully sued the government to establish that political prisoners on South Africa's infamous Robben Island, including Nelson Mandela, had the right to legal representation.

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