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 Tawakkol Karman   Yemen, 2011

Tawakkol Karman

Yemen, 2011

Tawakkol Karman was known as “The Mother of the Revolution” and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 in recognition of her work in nonviolent struggle for women’s rights and democracy in Yemen.

Upon being awarded the prize, Tawakkol became the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, as well as the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate at the time, at the age of 32.

Karman is a mother of four as well as a human rights activist, journalist, and politician.

Tawakkol was born in 1979 in Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city. She studied an undergraduate degree in Commerce from the University of Science and Technology in Sana’a before completing a graduate degree in Political Science from the University of Sana’a.

Growing up in a politically tumultuous country, Tawakkol witnessed the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990, followed by a civil war between the two factions in 1994 in which the North triumphed over the South. The civil war led to dissidence in the South as the repressive Northern government assumed control over the country.

"You have to be strong; you have to trust yourself that you can build a new country. You have to know that you have the ability to achieve your dream."

A journalist by profession and human rights activist by nature, Tawakkol responded to the political instability and human rights abuses in Yemen by mobilizing others and reporting on injustices. In 2005, she founded the organization Women Journalists Without Chains, (WJWC) which advocates for rights and freedoms and provides media skills to journalists. In addition, the organization produces regular reports on human rights abuses in Yemen, documenting more than 50 cases of attacks and unfair sentences against newspapers and writers to date.

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. Tawakkol’s weekly protests continued until 2011, when she redirected protesters to support the Arab Spring. Tawakkol even brought Yemen’s revolution to New York speaking directly with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and organizing rallies at the UN headquarters.

Bold and outspoken, Tawakkol has been imprisoned on a number of occasions for her pro-democracy, pro-human rights protests. Amongst Yemen’s opposition movement, she is known as “mother of the revolution” and “the iron woman.”

Since receiving the award, Tawakkol has continued to support female journalists and rally Yemenis against government corruption and injustice. 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.

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The Laureates

Rigoberta Menchú Tum

Guatemala

Jody Williams

USA

Shirin Ebadi

Iran

Leymah Gbowee

Liberia

Maria Ressa

Philippines

Narges Mohammadi

Iran

Oleksandra Matviichuk

Ukraine

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In the Media

Exclusive: 10 Counsellors attending the One Young World Summit Munich, 2025. One Young World. 26 April 2025.

UNRWA students in Jordan share hopes, dreams with women Nobel Peace Prize laureates. The Jordan Times. 22 April 2025.

Nobel Peace Laureates Conclude Jordan Visit with Meeting with HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal. ARDD. 21 April 2025.

Women Nobel Peace Laureates and Jordanian Human Rights Defenders Call for Collective Action for Peace and Security. ARDD. 16 April 2025.

Women Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Travel to Meet Palestinian Women. Fox4 News. 15 April 2025.

Tawakkol Karman from Amman: The Palestinian Woman is a Symbol of Resilience and We Must Continue Documenting to Expose the Crimes of the Occupation. Amman Net. 13 April 2025.

Overcoming the Sectarian Challenge to Democracy. Project Syndicate. 11 March 2025

What international solidarity means to Palestinian women. Waging Nonviolence. 29 November 2024.

Four Lessons From Leaders Who Challenged the Status Quo and Won. Entrepreneur United Kingdom. 18 November 2024.

Three Nobel Laureates and Tim Minchin discuss the future of decision-making. UNSW Sydney Newsroom. 15 November 2024.

Meta Oversight Board members have blasted Israel over Gaza: ‘Most criminal army in history’. New York Post. 05 September 2024.

Top Arab women who are breaking the glass ceiling. Ozarab Media. 09 August 2024.

A call for justice and peace in Gaza and beyond. American Friends Service Committee. 30 May 2024.

War of words between Israel and the Vatican over Gaza heats up. CRUX. 19 May 2024.

Israel protests after Nobel laureate denounces Gaza invasion at Vatican. Reuters. 13 May 2024.

Unmasking a legend: The Story of Tawakkol Karman. Observer Voice. 25 December 2023.

Maria Ressa and Tawakkol Larman meet Pope Francis. Rappler. 06 December 2023.

Unprecedented humanitarian crisis amidst imperialist intervention and counter-revolutionary revenge in Yemen. International ViewPoint. 11 November 2023.

Yemeni peace laureate to deliver keynote speech on the matter in Cape Town today. IOL. 13 October 2023.

The Arab World’s democratic transition has kicked off in Sarajevo. MEMO. 11 October 2023

From Rigoberta Menchú Tum to Narges Mohammadi; 6 Women who won Nobel Peace Price Fighting All Odds till date. Free Press Journal. 06 October 2023. 

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