Tawakkol Karman is a Yemeni journalist, politician, and
human rights activist. In 2011, she became the first Arab woman to win the
Nobel Peace Prize. She is a leader of the group “Women Journalists Without
Chains” which she co-founded in 2005.
She first rose to prominence in the Yemen in 2005 and then
as an advocate for a mobile phone news service in 2007 which led to protests to
gain freedom for the press. Karman
organized weekly protests in support of this effort. This is a woman who used
her voice in a place where women’s voices were often silenced.
As a human rights activist, she was vocal about the
treatment of Yemeni women. Karman alleged that many Yemeni girls suffer from
malnutrition and that two-thirds of Yemeni are unable to read. She also
advocated for laws that would prevent females younger than 17 from being
married.
Karman was greatly involved in the 2011 protests in Yemeni
as part of the Arab Spring uprisings. She organized student rallies in Sana’a
in protest against the long-standing rule of Saleh’s government. For her part, on
January 22nd, she was arrested by three men in plains clothes
without police identification, taken to prison, and held for 36 hours until she
was released on parole. This did not deter her as she led a protest when she
called for a “Day of Rage” on February 3rd similar to events that
had taken place as part of the 2011 Egyptian revolution as well as the Tunisian
revolution. She was re-arrested on March 17th amidst ongoing protests.
Karman was not deterred and assailed the US and Saudi Arabia
for their support of the “corrupt” Saleh regime in Yemen. She argued that
American intervention in Yemen was motivated by the war on terror and was not
responsive to the human rights abuses and calls from Yemen’s democracy movement
as those in the Saleh regime could maintain a status quo. Karman further
affirmed that it was not instability that the protesters were seeking but
rather that they wanted stability in the region and country.
Karman also lobbied the UN Security Council to not make a
deal that would pardon Saleh but hold him accountable, freeze his assets, and
support the protesters. The UN ultimately passed a resolution that condemned
Saleh’s government for the use of deadly force against protesters while also
backing the Gulf Cooperation Council’s initiative that gave Saleh immunity from
prosecution for his crimes if he resigned. Karman criticized the vote and
continued to advocate for Saleh to stand trial at the International Criminal
Court. After meeting with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, she was critical
that Secretary Clinton’s response did not adequately demonstrate an
appreciation on the part of the Obama administration for the sacrifice of the
Yemeni people.
In 2011, she was honored along with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
and Leymah Gbowee with the Nobel Peace Prize for “their non-violent struggle
for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in
peace-building work.” Karman recognized the significance of her award as only
the second Muslim woman and the first Arab woman to receive the prize. At the
time, she was also the youngest recipient until 2014 when it would be given to
Malala Yousafzai.
Karman has continued her work traveling to Qatar where she
met with Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and requested assistance from the Doh
Centre for Media Freedom in establishing a television and radio station,
Bilqis, named in honor of the Queen of Sheba, to support female journalists and
broadly educate Yemeni journalists. She also speaks at colleges and
universities across the globe to discuss women, human rights, and the Arab
Revolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment