Yemeni Women Burn their Veils

Yemeni women burnt their veils and head scarves today as a sign of protest to condemn the regime's brutality and violence, which has killed around 25 people overnight in Sanaa and Taiz and has been targeting women lately. The protest was not in anyway related to women's rights or against the Islamic veil as some people misunderstood, it was an outcry for help, specifically targeting the regime.

@SupportYemen tweets:

Yemeni women burnt their veils in protest to the regimes violence and crimes, especially the targeting of women… fb.me/AdNY5LTS

The following video, posted by EyesSemitic on YouTube, shows the women gathered at the protest in Sana'a's 60th street where they burned their veils:

Yemeni women sent out a powerful statement and plea to tribes and the international community to put an end to the regimes' violence (video posted by ainnews1):

@Dory_Eryani tweeted the core of their message, distributed in a leaflet:

“Here we burn our makrama [honour] in front of the world to witness the bloody massacres carried out by the tyrant Saleh,” #Yemen #burningveils

The burning of the veils by the women in the tribal tradition is a plea for help. Yemen is a tribal society and the killing of women is a big shame in Yemen and in Islam in general, so this was a clear and loud message by the Yemeni women for their tribes and the world at large to intervene to stop the killing of protesters.

@SummerNasser:

Women burnt veils today during protests. The burning of the veils are to symbolize that they are calling for tribes to help them. #Yemen #yf

@JamjoomCNN:

Female at veil burning: “Tribes must undrstnd they won't be respected by Yemeni women if they stay quiet while their women..attacked” #Yemen

Albeit living in a conservative society, women of Yemen have exhibited exemplary bravery and leadership skills in the current revolution, which made all Yemenis proud, as tweeted by @Mo_Alsharafi:

The Yemeni women are really heroines. thanks for all #Yemen's Women Revolutionaries.

This post was first published in Global Voices on October, 26th, 2011

Celebrating the Bravery of Revolutionary Women

In their eight months of peaceful revolution, Yemenis have been an inspiration to many, not only to Arabs but to the world at large. Despite being the poorest Arab country, Yemeni men and women exhibited their richness in bravery, resilience and steadfast but mostly they impressed the world with their peacefulness.

Taiz has been known as the city of resilience, the heart of Yemen's revolution, and hence has been subject to continuous shelling for the past months by the Republican Guards, led by Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh's son, Ahmed.

The following video shows the brave women of Taiz, whose city was shelled by Saleh's forces in the evening, marching the very next day despite the rain to condemn the violence and demand the trial of Saleh and his family. (video posted by: mohammednaruto1)

Revolutionary women have been peacefully marching daily side by side with men in the streets of Yemen.

The next video shows the women of Dhamar as they marched chanting to the military to stop defending Saleh's brutal regime and condemning the regime's mass punishment of cutting basic services such as electricity and water. (Video posted by: almenifi)

In the capital Sanaa, outraged women marched out condemning the “fatwa” (religious edict) which Saleh urged his loyal clerics to issue prohibiting protests as this video posted by the mediacentersanaa shows.

The video which follows shows the heavy presence of women in the March on Octocber 4th in Sanaa saluting Yemen's National anthem. (Videos posted by: alqershi2011)

On the same day the Organizing Committee of the Yemeni Youth Popular Revolution issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and followed it by a video statement read by a brave revolutionary woman stating the demands of the youth.

Yemen and its revolution are often marginalized yet the peacefulness of Yemenis in making their demands continues to be an inspiration to many. Today one of our female revolutionary leaders, Tawakkol Karman was awarded the Noble Peace Prize. It is certainly a victory and honor for Arabs, for Yemen, for women, for activists, for freedom fighters but mostly it is a victory for Yemeni revolutionaries and Yemen's peaceful revolution.

* This post was first published in Global Voices, on October 7th, 2011

Tawakkol Karman: An Extraordinary Woman from Yemen

"As long as I live - no matter what I do - my goals will remain the same. Ending corruption, defending human rights, fighting dictatorship" - Tawakkol Karman

A Muslim, an Arab, a Yemeni woman won the 2011 Noble Peace Prize breaking so many stereotypes all at once. Muslim and Arab women, especially Yemeni have often been perceived as oppressed, subdued and submissive, yet Tawakkol Karman, a journalist and mother of three corrected this misconception. She is a human rights activists who created the human rights group Women Journalists withit Chains (WJWC) in 2005 to promote human rights, "particularly freedom of opinion and expression, and democratic rights". She had been calling for change and peacefully protested to topple Saleh's corrupt regime long before the Arab spring, when nobody in Yemen believed it was even possible. She has been arrested, threatened, harassed by the regime yet exhibited bravery, courage, steadfast and a heroic determination to pursue her cause. The Prize motivation which she shared with two other great women from Liberia, President Ellen Jihnson Sirleaf and peace activist Leymah Gbowee as quoted by the Noble Prize official website was for "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work". She had been living in a tent for the past 8 months, speaking out and leading peaceful protests in Sanaa's Change square, where she heard news of her Noble Peace Prize award.
Tawakkol Karman in a conversation with Sudarsan Raghavan said she "hoped the United States and the rest of the international community would increase pressure on Saleh to step down and face trial. It was clear that she had no intention of leaving her tent until the regime falls."

"This award did not come to me as Tawakkol Karman the individual, it came to me as a daughter of this great nation, that amazed the world with its peacefulness. No one could solve the riddle of this nation ... it was the international community's recognition of the most amazing revolution the world has ever seen." 

Yemen and it's current revolution are often marginalized, yet it continues to inspire those who follow it. Tawakkol Karman Noble Peace Prize is an acknowledgment, honor and victory for Arabs, for Yemen, for human rights activists but mostly for Yemeni revolutionaries and Yemen's Peaceful Revolution.
I have always been proud to be an Arab and a Yemeni, but Tawakkol made me more proud to be so. Whenever asked where I originally came from since I am proudly Egyptian too, I reply "from Yemen, land of Sheba and Queen Bilquis", but now I'll boast and say "from Yemen, the country of Tawakkol Karman, this Year's Noble Peace Prize winner.

Peace

Related Links:

Celebrating Tawakkol Karman

The Bravery of Yemen's Women

I am Yemeni and Proud

Celebrating Yemen's Tawakkol Karman

Tawakkol Karman, an outspoken journalist and human rights activist, described in the Guardian as a “thorn in [Yemeni President Ali Abdullah] Saleh's back”, was today named as Yemen's first Noble Peace Prize winner. She has been a prime example of courage and bravery in Yemen since 2007.

In the following video, posted by the channel of “Women Journalists Without Chains“, which Karman heads, she is shown leading a peaceful march condemning Saleh and Saudi Arabia's interference in Yemen's revolution and vowing to bring back the days of former president Ibrahim Alhamdi, whom Yemenis choose to honor today (October 7) calling it “Friday of Martyr Ibrahim Alhamdi”. (Video posted: belaquood)

Tawakkol Karman is a leader in Yemen's peaceful revolution against it's brutal and corrupt regime. She encouraged Yemeni to bravely pursue their struggle to topple the dictatorial regime, as she leads the chants in Sanaa's Change square, shown in this video posted also by Women Journalist Without Chainschannel. Undoubtedly she has been an inspiration to many men and women, and not only Yemeni.

Reactions to Tawakkol Karman's win were expressed all over Twitter. Here are some of them.

@tota770::

OH MY GOD ! The Yemeni activist Tawakol Karman was awarded the #Nobel peace prize , VIVA #Yemen #YF

@Dory_Eryani:

She is Yemeni and woman and she made it! #yemen #woman #tawakkolkarman #nobel

@mainoman:

Yemeni women have always been proud, and they have every right to be! But today the world recognizes why #Yemen #tawakkolkarman #nobelprize

@brrhom::

#TawakkolKarman trends worldwide on twitter #Yemen

@OmarMash::

Yemeni female activist Tawakol Karman has today won a Nobel Peace Prize, this is win against Saleh, a win for Yemen & Arab women empowerment

@Saphsaf:

Good Friday for #Yemen and #Peace and #Women and #ArabSpring and #TawakkolKarman our very own Aung San Su Kyi for #democracy

@WomanfromYemen:

what should be remember about #TawakkulKarman is her role in speaking out against injustice & oppression since 2007 #supportyemen #yemen

Afrah Nasser a Yemeni journalist and blogger, now based in Sweden after receiving threats from the regime vloggged her reaction to the news in this video:

@YusraAlA:

Proud of being a woman, Proud of being Yemeni, and proud of Tawakul Karman! Congrats #Yemen #yf

Twakkol Karman's own reaction was quoted:

@OmarMash:

Tawakul Karman: “I am very very happy about this prize. I give the prize to the youth of revolution in Yemen and the Yemeni people.”

@yemen_updates:

Tawwakul: “I dedicate this Prize to all Arab revolutionary in #Tunisia, #Egypt, #Syria & #Libya.” Live interview with her on Suhail TV now.

Yemen, unfortunately, has been associated in the media with terrorism and violence, yet Tawakkol Karman's Noble Prize and Yemen's current revolution managed to associate it with Peace, forever.

@yemen_updates tweeted:

Tawwakul's winning of #NobelPeacePrize will keep making headlines worldwide for a while, breaking down the negative image of #Yemen.

This post was published in Global Voices as part of a special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.