YEMEN: NOMINATION FOR 2010 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF

UNCLAS SANAA 002080 SIPDIS S/GWI FOR IMARR AND JSOSNE NEA/ARP FOR AMACDONALD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM YM SUBJECT: YEMEN: NOMINATION FOR 2010 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD REF: STATE 111471 Nominee: TAWAKUL A. KARMAN Title: President, Women Journalists Without Chains Date of Birth: TBD Country of Birth: Yemen Citizenship: Yemeni Mobile: 967-712-020-010 E-mail: withoutchains@gmail.com Languages: Arabic (fluent),English (limited proficiency) Notification: Not yet notified of nomination. Post Contact: Political Officer Faith Meyers In a country where the vast majority of women walk around veiled head-to-toe in black, few leave the house without a male escort and even fewer work outside the home, journalist and human rights activist Tawakul Karman stands apart from the crowd. Tawakul, chairman of the local non-governmental organization Women Journalists Without Chains, is a prominent defender of freedom of the press and human rights in Yemen. She is foremost among her colleagues - both male and female - in speaking out against injustice and has inspired scores of other women activists to join her in protest, despite the risks. Tawakul has broken other gender barriers as well; she is an active member in the opposition Islah party's highest decision-making body. While Islah is considered a moderate Islamist political party, some of its hard-line members do not see eye-to-eye with women activists like Tawakul. She has struggled to put issues of reform - including women's rights under Islam - at the top of the party platform. Receiving intimidating threats and suffering bodily harm has only empowered Tawakul in her pursuit of justice and freedom of expression. Tawakul has actively campaigned for freedom of the press for many years, first as a journalist and then as an activist. Tawakul was the first activist to launch the so-called "Phase of Protests and Sit-Ins" in the country. From July 2007 through the present day, Tawakul and other human rights activists and defenders of freedom of the press hold a weekly sit-in in Sana'a's "Freedom Square" in front of the headquarters of the Cabinet of Ministers. In addition to being the primary organizer of these sit-ins, Tawakul also created the concept of Freedom Square - a small area in front of the Cabinet that has become the primary location for Yemenis to protest against injustice and express their grievances to the government. As a result of the sharp escalation in violations of freedom of expression - including attacks on journalists, closure of newspapers, censorship of articles deemed "illegal" by the government of Yemen, and the disappearance of a prominent journalist - Tawakul began to use her weekly demonstrations to protest the disappearances and imprisonment of journalists and human rights activists across Yemen. Ignoring intimidation from the security services and threatening phone calls, she delivers speeches calling for the release of kidnapped journalists and for the re-opening of independent newspapers shut down by the government. Tawakul's bravery has inspired scores of other women activists to join her in challenging the government to afford Yemenis their basic rights - whether at protests in Sana'a, demonstrations across Yemen's southern governorates or marches in the western city of Taiz. In her writings, Tawakul advocates for freedom of the press and defends human rights, including the rights of women. She has received frequent threats on her own life and the lives of her young children resulting from her work as a woman activist. Tawakul agreed to testify during Yemen's Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in Geneva in 2009, which subjected her to further scrutiny and harassment. Her courage, as a wife and mother as well as a human rights activist, has shown Yemen's women that they can take an active role in the political and social life in their country without giving up traditional values. She has been frequently attacked and beaten by the security services in the course of her activism: - She was beaten by policemen in 2005 during a sit-in before a court in Sana'a in support of a human rights lawyer. - She and other protesters were attacked by security personnel during a sit-in in July 2007 in Freedom Square. - In November 2008, she was bodily removed from Freedom Square by 30 policemen. - In September 2009, Tawakul and another woman activist were attacked by military personnel who took their banners and broke a camera they were using at a sit-in for press freedoms. In her political activism as well, Tawakul has advanced the participation of women and defense of basic human rights. She is one of a small number of women on the Shura Council (the top legislative body) of Islah, a moderate Islamist opposition party. She is among the party's top young reformers, working to promote Islah's political and social role and productive relationship with civil society organizations. Tawakul has worked hard to ensure that women play a strong role in the party's organization and activities, and has challenged the party's hard-liners to advance this purpose. Tawakul's selection for the 2010 International Women of Courage Award would send a powerful message to the people and government of Yemen of U.S. support for the essential values of freedom of the press, protection of human rights and the promotion of women. SECHE