Karman, Tawakul
Karman, Tawakul
(täwäko͞ol` kärmän`), 1979–, Yemeni journalist and human-rights activist. An outspoken journalist, she encountered repeated government opposition and was a cofounder (2005) of the Women Journalists without Chains, which agitates for press freedom. She also has played a leading role in the struggle for Yemeni democracy and women's rights. The leader of a moderate wing of the opposition Islamist party Islah, she has led sit-ins to demand the release of political prisoners and has been jailed several times for her activities. In 2011 she spearheaded early youth rallies against against President SalehSaleh, Ali Abdullah, 1942–2017, Yemeni political leader, b. Bayt al-Ahmar. Saleh joined the army in 1958 and rose through the ranks, becoming a colonel in 1982. An active participant in the 1974 coup, he became president of the Yemen Arab Republic (or Northern Yemen) and
..... Click the link for more information. 's rule and later was one of the most vocal and visible members of the occupiers of Sana's "Change Square," leading some to call her "the mother of the revolution." Karman and Liberians Ellen Johnson SirleafSirleaf, Ellen Johnson
, 1938–, Liberian economist and political leader. Educated in the United States (M.P.A. Harvard, 1971), she worked in the Liberian government (1964–67, 1977–80), at the World Bank (1972–77, 1980–81), and in private banking
..... Click the link for more information. and Leymah GboweeGbowee, Leymah Roberta
, 1972–, Liberian peace activist. A social worker and trauma counselor, she worked with ex-child soldiers from Charles Taylor's army, joined the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), and founded (2002) the WIPNET-led Liberian Mass Action for
..... Click the link for more information. were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. She left Yemen after Houthi forces seized Sana in 2014; her criticism of Saudi and Emirati intervention in Yemen's civil war led in 2018 to her suspension from Islah