Tawakkol Karman Foundation

On Thursday, TKF celebrated the 10th Anniversary marking Ms. Tawakkol Karman's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize, with the presence of more than 600 personalities of different nationalities: Yemeni, Arab, Turkish, and foreign figures politicians, and activists. In her speech, Karman recalled stopping the war in Yemen and to resume the faltering political process.

Karman said, “The militias must be disbanded, with the state monopolizing arms, and to launch a rebuilding project to rebuild the remnants of the war in Yemen, in order to activate a clear path to transitional justice and national reconciliation.”

Karman added, “Yemen is going through its worst historical stages because of the coup against the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference. Moreover, the attempt to control the state, which none of the Yemenis would have allowed to happen, had it not been for the belief of tyrants and delusional traitors to settle Yemenis.”

Regarding the Nobel Prize, she said, “From the first moment (in 2011), I considered it a prize for Yemeni youth, Arab youth, and Arab and Yemeni women and based on this conviction, the full financial value was allocated to the Fund for the Welfare of Families and Martyrs of the Yemeni revolution, and the prize was a right for every revolutionary and free person in the field and for every person who opposes tyranny in the world.”

The human rights activist emphasized that she is with real and sustainable peace that guarantees citizens their rights and freedoms, and guarantees them the preservation of their dignity through a state of law, not a state of gangs that are free from any responsibilities, or that they surrender to injustice, oppression, and the authority of the de-facto.

And she continued, “I have decided from the first day of the revolution and before and after the Nobel prize, to be faithful to the sacrifices of the Arab Spring youth, and during the past years, hopes were mixed with pain, moments of sadness and joy, moments of fatigue and suffering. We lived through many disasters and sadness, and I pledged not to compromise before and after the Nobel prize on the values of the Arab Spring, the principles of freedom, democracy, and human rights be traded for any prize, no matter how high it is.”

And she added, “The war is at its most intense between the advocates of democracy who don't differentiate between its members and the advocates of tyranny which the countries of counter-revolutions are trying to maintain, stressing that the Arabs have the right to have democratic states that rule by law and are established based on people's choices, and it has become a necessity of life for every Arab.”

The concert was performed by Tunisian singer Mehr Hammami, Oud player Mohammed Al-Hajri, and Qanun player Farah Fares, accompanied by the Turkish band ‘Selam’. It is noteworthy that Tawakkol Karman is a human rights, journalist, and political activist known by several titles, including ‘Mother of the Revolution, ‘Iron Woman’ and ‘Lady of the Arab Spring.’ She played a key role in the pro-democracy youth uprising that occurred in Yemen in 2011, in partnership with Ellen John Sirleaf and Lima Gbowee, and in recognition of her leadership role in the peaceful struggle and the fight against tyranny, corruption, and oppression. Karman is the first Arab woman and the second Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.