Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Khalid Karman was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 in recognition of her work in the nonviolent struggle for the right of expression, the safety of women and women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work in Yemen.

Karman became the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman and the second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. She is also the second-youngest Nobel Peace Laureate, with the award bestowed on her at the age of 32. 

 

Karman, a mother of three, is a human rights activist, journalist, politician and president of the nongovernmental organization Women Journalists Without Chains. She is also the general coordinator of the Peaceful Youth Revolution Council, an advisory board member for Transparency International and a member of several other international human rights organizations.

Bold and outspoken, Karman has been imprisoned on a number of occasions for her pro-democracy, pro-human rights protests. Among Yemen’s youth movement, she is known as the “mother of the revolution,” “the iron woman” and “the lady of the Arab Spring.”

While at UMass Lowell, Karman’s residency will include lectures, where students can gain special insight from her unique expertise on the topic. She will also serve as the Day Without Violence keynote speaker.