Tawakkol Karman Quotes (1979-)

“Women should stop being or feeling that they are part of the problem and become part of the solution. We have been marginalized for a long time, and now is the time for women to stand up and become active without needing to ask for permission or acceptance. This is the only way we will give back to our society and allow for Yemen to reach the great potentials it has.”

“To begin, I am a citizen of the world. The Earth is my country, and humanity is my nation. This is my motto: What everyone has longed for and will be achieved when all of the people shall also celebrate this prize that every Yemeni, and every Arab, and every human being and every woman has also won beside me.”

“I visited Karman’s home earlier this year, while reporting a piece for The New Yorker. On her mantle sit the photographs of four people: Martin Luther King, Jr.; Mahatma Gandhi; Nelson Mandela; and Hillary Clinton. The first three, of course, are apostles of non-violent change. Karman told me that if her movement had a playbook it was Mandela’s autobiography. Karman idolizes Clinton because she is a strong woman — “she is my role model” — but also because of Clinton’s support for her ... Early on in the protests, Saleh tried to silence Karman the way people do in societies dominated by men: by appealing to a male member of her family ... She is still in mortal danger. But the canvas tent where Karman makes her home is surrounded by thousands of others now, and by tens of thousands of Yemenis who responded to her call.”

“Tawakkol Karman was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 in recognition of her work in nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peacebuilding work in Yemen...Karman is a mother of three as well as a human rights activist, journalist, politician, and senior member of the Al-Islah political party...A journalist by profession and human rights activist by nature...In 2007, Tawakkol began organizing weekly protests in Yemen’s capitol, Sana’a, targeting systemic government repression and calling for inquiries into corruption and other forms of social and legal injustice...Bold and outspoken, Tawakkol has been imprisoned on a number of occasions for her pro-democracy, pro-human rights protests...Fiercely committed to change, Tawakkol spends the majority of her time in a tent in Change Square, where she continues her peaceful protests for justice and freedom.”

“Tawakkol Karman ... seems to have lost her grip on reality ... she does not seem to understand that she is now a global figure ... She employs a parochial mentality when dealing with her Facebook page, exhibiting no restraint in her discussion of Yemeni issues. Her views are influenced by her party, the fundamentalist Yemeni Congregation for Reform, known as Islah ... Every day, Karman suffers losses because of the inappropriate way she uses Facebook. One of the worst incidents took place after she was chosen to be a member of the technical committee to coordinate an inclusive national dialogue. ... Karman wanted to be the official spokesperson for the committee, but they told her that this will be determined by open elections which included another candidate, the women’s rights activist, Amal al-Basha ... It seems that the Nobel winner needs to reevaluate her modus operandi to avoid similar losses.”

“[She] became the international public face of Yemen’s Arab Spring uprising. After weathering multiple arrests and assassination attempts, Karman was named a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent work advocating for women’s rights and democratic reform. She was the first Arab woman to receive the honor and the youngest laureate to date.”