Tawakkol Karman

Born:February 7, 1979 (age 47)
Education:B.A. and graduate degree, University of Science and Technology in Sana’a
M.A., University of Massachusetts Lowell

Tawakkol Karman is a Yemeni journalist and human rights activist and a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."

Karman was born on February 7, 1979, in Ta'izz, Yemen. She earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce and a graduate degree in political science from the University of Science and Technology in Sana’a and a master's degree in international security from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

In 2005, Karman co-founded Women Journalists Without Chains, an organization that advocates for journalists’ rights and documents human rights abuses against Yemeni journalists and writers. From 2007 to 2011, Karman organized protests against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, culminating in her leadership with the Arab Spring movement in 2011. She has been imprisoned several times for her activism.

“Tawakkol Karman – Facts.” NobelPrize.org. Retrieved on August 7, 2025 from https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2011/karman/facts.

Speeches