Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni Activist, “Mother of the Revolution,” 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Lauerate
Tawakkol Karman is a Yemeni journalist, politician, and human rights activist, often referred to in her country as the “Iron Woman” and the “Mother of the Revolution.”
In 2005 she founded Women Journalists Without Chains, which advocates for rights and freedom of the press, provides media skills to journalists, and reports on human rights abuses in Yemen.
By May 2007 Tawakkol was leading weekly nonviolent demonstrations for women’s rights, freedom of the press and reform in Yemen. She soon became the international public face of the 2011 Yemeni uprising that was part of the Arab Spring. She has been imprisoned on a number of occasions for her pro-democracy, pro-human rights protests.
She was the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Prize. At 32 years old at the time of her award was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Laureate to date. She shared the award with Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
