Tawakkol Karman
Tawakkol Karman (Arabic توكل كرمان, Tawakkul Karman DMG; born February 7, 1979 in Taiz, Yemen Arab Republic ) is a Yemeni journalist, politician, human rights activist and member of the opposition party Al- Islah, the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. She is considered one of the most famous personalities of the protest movement in Yemen. In 2011 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Life
Tawakkol Karman is the daughter of politician Abdul -Salam Karman. Her father was Minister of Justice under President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He resigned in 1994 after Salih had had reflected by military force protests in the south of the country. He publicly criticized Saleh's government and discussed with his daughter at home a lot about justice and undesirable developments in Yemen. Both Abdul -Salam Karman and her uncle are prominent leaders of the opposition party Al- Islah. Karman's own membership earned her criticism. Her brother Tariq is a poet.
Karman graduated at the University of Sanaa from a study of administrative science ( other claims to political science ). There she also learned English and read the autobiography of Nelson Mandela ( Long Walk to Freedom) and Mahatma Gandhi. As a reporter, she took action against child marriages. As an employee of the newspaper Al- Thawrah she founded in 2005 together with other women and with the help of foreign governments and aid agencies, the Association Women Journalists Without Chains ( engl. Women Journalists Without Chains, WJWC ) mainly committed to human rights. From then on she took over the leadership of WJWC.
As of 2006, they opposed it with bulk sms against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Initiated by Karman text message service with political messages and messages to several thousand people was set by the Yemeni regime in 2007. As of that same year, she organized a week before the official seat of government smaller rallies at which they demanded an end to corruption and tyranny, the release of political prisoners and freedom of expression, and freedom of the press. At the same time they demanded quotas for women in the public service, criticized the minister of information, the journalists wanted to ban without chains, and campaigned for it to take off the traditional face veil.
In connection with the " Arab Spring " that led in early 2011 to the fall of Tunisian dictator Zine el- Abidine Ben Ali, among other things, it came to protests in Yemen. Tawakkol Karman organized student demonstrations during this period in Sanaa against Saleh and his government. Karman was arrested, imprisoned and released. Her arrest sparked mass demonstrations. 29 January 2011 Karman led to further protests and called on February 3, a "Day of Rage" from. Karman was once again on March 17 under arrest.
Beginning of October 2011 Karman was awarded along with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. The award was given " their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for the right of women to participate fully in creating work in peace ." Karman dedicated the award to the activists of the Arab Spring. Karman is the first woman from the Arab region, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. With an age of 32 years at the time of the award, she was also the youngest ever recipient of a Nobel Prize. In a Spiegel interview on the award Karman said in October 2011 about their idea of the future of Yemen: "We want a modern civil society, open-minded and forward-looking. " On the role of Islam, she said: " We envision a system like in Turkey. "
Tawakkol Karman lives in Sanaa. She is married and the mother of three children. Her husband, math teacher Mahomet al - Nahmi, Karman supported in their protests. Its political role models, it is one next to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Hillary Clinton.
In 2011 she supported the initiative A logo for human rights.