Feminists Around the World: Tawakkul Karmān

Yemeni activist who has been working for the rights and nonviolent resistance for women’s rights and freedoms.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is any and Samantha, and welcome to stuff.
I've never told you prediction, but I heard you.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
And welcome to another feminist around the world. And again
we're gonna go ahead and put our caveats at the top. Pronunciation.
We're trying our best. Some of the things are kind
of a struggle.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Again, we are.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
US citizens and myself who is really trying to figure
out these pronunciations. So if we say a name wrong,
whatever organization wrong, please let us know because we do
want to correct it. But know that we did try
to research and trying our damnedest. And like I have discovered,
when it comes to languages, when you're technique in accident,

(00:56):
skills are specific to one area and you don't travel
often into these areas with very different differing languages, your
muscle memory slash mouth like muscles can't form some words
that I really wish I could. I wish I was
that fluid. It's kind of like the rolling of the rs.
I can't do it well. I figured this out, and

(01:18):
as I'm trying to learn Korean, I can't do the
back of the throat like throttle that they do in
some of their words. I'm sad about that, but just
put that at the top of here, as well as
the fact I am going to absolutely be transparent with
the all when I say when it comes to conflicts
around the world, I am naive. There are a few
things that I do know of, and we have been

(01:41):
very very very much so blinded by our own teachings,
especially here in the US, especially here in the South,
in which we were not taught things correctly and or
we have been ignorant and or taught misinformation a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
I think we've talked about that a lot.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
I love that we have social media now to learn
a little more depth of it, and I am very
proud of the fact that our younger generations are understanding that.
As a person who was an excellennial, I have found
my group of people I understand that I do not
completely understand what has happened and what is continuing to

(02:22):
happen all around the world, and that includes again from
my own country, home country of Korea. I just learned
some new facts that I'm like, why didn't I know this?
In the establishment of North Korea. I was like, wow,
this has a lot to do with US militarial dictation
that I had no idea dictatorship essentially in its well matter.
And I'm not like my mind is blown, let's just

(02:44):
say that. But as we try to continue to highlight
things around the world, and as we are teaching ourselves,
I'm learning myself. I have realized it will take another
two semesters, if not four years, of trying to study
what is happening in the conflicts and to get to
the nitty gritty and to get to the understanding and
the backgrounds of some of the atrocities that have happened

(03:05):
and continue to happen. So I'm gonna put that at
this top. As I am we are speaking and highlighting
these activists, Please know if something is misarticulated or something
is out of frame in lay timelines, we are doing
our best. Please correct us though, because we don't want

(03:25):
to stay on that misinformation obviously, including the fact that
one of the articles on here says like a twenty
eleven timeline, and then you go to her actual site.
The activist actual site has twenty ten. But then I
kind of go back and forth and I think, actually
her website might be off because of the articles that
were written. But hu, and again that's like thirteen years ago,

(03:48):
so more than a decade, just as a reminder. So,
but that does not stop us from highlighting the amazing activist,
because that shouldn't stop us just because we are afraid
that we might be off with just some of the information.
So again, if y'all have more information, I would like
to tell us more, please please do all right, so

(04:09):
let's jump into it. So we're talking about the first
Arab woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize, Tawakool Carmen,
and she was also the youngest at the time to
win the Nobel Peace Prize. This was in twenty eleven,
as well as the fact I believe she's the second
Muslim woman to actually win as well, So a lot
of first for her, like or at least close to

(04:29):
and Carmen is a Yemini activist who has been working
for the rights and nonviolent resistance for women's rights and
freedoms for her community. Along with her works as an advocate,
Carmen is also a journalist and writer and has learned
a lot from her own family, who are very politically involved.
Her father served as a Minister of Legal Affairs in
the late eighties and early nineties.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
In her country, and after earning her degrees, she quickly
became active in political activism within her country. Here's a
bit about her from Britannica dot com. Graduated from the
University of Science and Technology in Sanah with a degree
in commerce in nineteen ninety nine and later earned a
master's degree in political science. After completing her education, Carmen

(05:10):
began career in journalism, writing articles, producing documentary films, and
disseminating news alerts via text messages, and she encountered restrictions
and threats from the Umeni government. Carmen and several of
her colleagues founded Women Journalists Without Chains in two thousand
and five to advocate for women's rights, civil rights, and
freedom of expression.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
So here's a bit from her own site, Tawakkolecarmen dot
net talking about the Women Journalists Without Chains quote. In
two thousand and five, she founded Women Journalists Without Chains
to advocate for freedom of the press and worked as
a campaigning journalist reporting on government and justice and human
rights issues, including malnutrition and illiteracy among girls. In two
thousand and five, Carmen was one of eight female journalists

(05:52):
who founded the human rights group Women Journalists Without Chains.
The group promoted press freedom and mobile phone news services,
which were tightly.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
And here's some more information from her bio in the
Noblewomen's Initiative dot org quote a journalist by profession and
human rights activists by nature. Tawakoul responded to the political
instability in human rights abuses in Yemen by mobilizing others
and reporting on injustices. In two thousand and five, she
founded the organization Women Journalists Without Chains wj WC, which

(06:23):
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 fifty cases of attacks
and unfair sentences against newspapers and writers to date. With
all of these abuses and unfair treatment against the press
and journalists, Carmen began organizing sit ins and demonstrations to

(06:45):
protest the government. Here's some more information from that Britannica
profile quote. In two thousand and seven, Carmen began staging
weekly sudents in Sanad to demand a variety of democratic reforms.
She continued the practice for several years and was arrested
moreultiple times for her activism. Although Carmen was a senior
member of the islab Refeign Party, Yemmon's main Islamist opposition party,

(07:08):
she occasionally clashed with the party's religious conservatives. In twenty ten,
for example, she criticized members of her own party for
opposing legislation to raise the legal marriage age for women
to seventeen.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
So in twenty eleven, Carmen was still organizing sit ins
and protests, including for students around the areas, and she
was a target for the government for her continued work.
In January of twenty eleven, she and her family were
stopped by playing clothes officers and taken to prison for
thirty six hours. And it was this action that many
really saw what was happening with Carmen and her work
in protests. So here's a quote that she had written

(07:53):
and published into April twenty eleven in a Guardian article
about the situation. And yes, we're pretty much reading two
articles that she had written soon after. So we were
going to be reading this in the New York Times article,
and we're doing a big chunk because I think it's
important that you hear her words. That we all hear
her words rather so. The revolution in Yuman began immediately

(08:14):
after the fall of Ben Ali Indunisia. On January fourteenth,
As I always do when arranging a demonstration, I posted
a message on Facebook calling on people to celebrate the
Tunisian uprising on sixteenth of January. The following day, a
group of students from Sunai University asked me to attend
a visual in front of the Tunisian embassy. The crowd
was shouting heroes, we are with you in the line

(08:36):
of fire against the evil rulers. We were treated roughly
by the security forces, and we chanted if one day
a people desire to live, then destiny will answer their
call and the night must come to an end, the
mantra of the revolutionaries in Tunisia. The demonstration was astonishing.
Thousands turned up and Sina's witnessed its first peaceful demonstration
of the overthrow of the regime. Go before you were

(08:58):
driven out, we cried. The nice suit and youth leaders
visited me along with the human rights activists Ahmed safe
Hashid and the writer Abdul Bahi Tahir. We agreed that
we would not let this historic moment pass us by
and that we too could spark a peaceful revolution to
demand an end to the despotic regime. We decided there
was to be no backing down, despite the repression we

(09:18):
knew would come. The rallies grew daily, even though the
government deployed thugs against us. After a week of protest,
I was detained by the security forces in the middle
of the night. This has to become a defining moment
in the Yemini Revolution. Media outlets reported my detention and
demonstrations erupted in most provinces of the country. They were
organized by students, civil society activists, and politicians. The pressure

(09:42):
on the government was intense and I was released after
thirty six hours in a women's prison, where I was
kept in chains. After my release, I continued to demonstrate.
Invitations were sent to all parties, including the people of
the south, the hutis in the north, the tribes, trade unions,
civil society organizations, and the army to join the peaceful
student and demand an end to the regime.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
And in June that same year, she went on to
publish another article in The New York Times titled Yemen's
Unfinished Revolution, where she writes, after more than five months
of continuous protest, I stand today in Changed Square with
thousands of young people, united by a lofty dream. I
have spent days and nights camped out in tents with
fellow protesters. I have led demonstrations in the streets, facing

(10:24):
the threat of mortars, missiles and gunfire. I have struggled
to build a movement for democratic change, all while caring
for my three young children. We have reached this historic
moment because we chose to march in the streets demanding
the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Sale, an end to
his corrupt and failed regime, and the establishment of a
modern democratic state. On June fourth, our wish for mister

(10:47):
Sali's departure was granted, but our demand for democracy remains unfulfilled.
Following months of peaceful protests that reached every village, neighborhood,
and street, Yemen is now facing a complete vacuum of
authority without a president or parliament. Mister Sally may be gone,
but authority has not yet been transferred to transitional presidential

(11:07):
Council endorsed by the people.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
So in the article, she continues to implore outside governments
to intervene and essentially the mess that they help cause,
that we're killing and violating the many citizens. And yeah,
I would encourage everyone to go to either one of
these articles or both of these articles. You can. Actually
she does have a Wikipedia page and there are links
to that New York Times article as where well as
a Guardian article where she talks about what is happening

(11:32):
and what is needed and who she's calling out, and
of course the US is a part of that, and
I feel like that's a big key proponent to a
majority of these conflicts. We'll just keep that right there.
I'm on a list. I'm definitely on a list.

Speaker 1 (11:47):
I've been on a list in s eighth grade.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
But just how deeply it's going and what they need
and what they're calling out, and they're on history behind
who is putting these people in power and for what reason?
And I think it's really important that we keep talking
about it because these conflicts are still happening. So during
these long protests and demonstrations, Carmen would continue to call

(12:10):
for peaceful protests, even saying quote, with non violence, the
journey to freedom is less bloody and more guaranteed. Of course, yes,
and there was a lot of violence happening against them,
including people dying during demonstrations, So her tireless work and
fighting still continues as she travels around the world speaking
and advocating for peace and human rights and protections for
her people in all people, and of course, along with

(12:33):
her Nobel Peace Prize, she has many other accolades under names.
She has a documentary of her I believe the title
the Screams We Talk About the Women's Revolt in twenty eleven,
and from her site says quote. She has received various
awards and accolades, which includes one of Time Magazine's Most
Rebellious Women in History in twenty eleven, one of Foreign

(12:53):
Policy Magazine's Top one hundred Global Thinkers for three years,
one of cnian's list of most Powerful Women in the World.
Towerkool has been selected for international powerful positions, member of
the United Nations High Level Panel of Imminent Persons on
Post twenty fifteen Development, member of Transparency Internationals Advisory Council,
and many international NGOs. I actually did listen to one

(13:16):
of her speeches happening in the United States recently as well,
and I think it's also good to note while she
was attending lecturing for University of North Dakota in twenty
twenty three, So just last year, the student asked her
what advice she would offer to the next generation of

(13:37):
people aspiring to affect me for change. As she said,
you are strong enough to do very big things. Believe
in your goals, believe in yourself. If you dream what
you want and make your dream bold, there is no
fear of consequence, and always always search for the truth.
And yeah, with that, we are here as supporting our
fellow young people and those out there protest and using

(14:01):
their their rights and being peaceful protesters. And know that
we are thinking of you and we applaud what you
are doing.

Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yes, and if any listeners have any information about this
or anybody else we should talk about, please let us know.
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(14:28):
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