Three women, three Nobel Peace Prize winners

This year’s winner, Venezuela’s María Corina Machado, relies on inner resources that are similar to past winners from Myanmar and Iran.

The winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, has many striking similarities to two previous winners: Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi and Iran’s Narges Mohammadi. Yes, all three are women. Yes, all are champions for democracy inside dictatorships. And all are either in prison or in hiding.

On those aspects alone, they are worthy of a Nobel and inspiring to millions of followers. Yet what really links them in a meaningful way is how they describe a mental strength that helps them stand for civic virtues such as individual freedom and democratic equality.

Perhaps Ms. Suu Kyi best describes how pro-democracy dis