Tawakkol Karman: Quotes about people

“Over the next three years, governments will have to choose whether or not to adopt this new people-centric framework for development. The temptation for political leaders to retreat to a safer, more conventional approach will mean a strong global grassroots campaign will thus be necessary to build pressure for adoption of these groundbreaking and transformative elements recommended in the report.”

Tawakkol Karman

2000s, Youth Q&A on the U.N. High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Agenda Report (2009)

People , Strong

“Requiring governments to make all publicly held information and data available to people — thus giving citizens a powerful tool to expose corruption — is just one aspect of the accountability revolution that can be unleashed if the report’s recommendations are implemented in full.”

Tawakkol Karman

2000s, Youth Q&A on the U.N. High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Agenda Report (2009)

People

“The repercussions of the coup on nascent democracies in the Arab world will be destructive. People may soon lose faith in the democratic process, paving the way for the revival of extremist groups…The coup serves to strengthen the radicals, interrupting the course of peaceful change.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Egypt's coup has crushed all the freedoms won in the revolution (2013)

People , World , Peace , Faith

“There have been violations in the protest squares, especially in Sana'a. This is natural when hundreds of thousands of people [protest] for extended periods of time. However, these violations are marginal, and do not tarnish the beauty of the revolution. We see rival tribes meeting and debating in their tents, and men and women struggling [together] in the square to oust the regime.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkul Karman – A Profile (2011)

Women , Men , People , Beauty

“For the first time people in the south stopped calling for separation, raised the national flag and demanded an end to the regime. It's been truly historic. The country is united in its aim to rid itself of the regime through public vigils and rallies, civil disobedience and slogans instead of tear gas and bullets.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Our revolution's doing what Saleh can't – uniting Yemen (2011)

People , Tear , Time , Country

“Since the start of this revolution, we were able to get rid of a lot of the issues and the problems that this regime created. … We have the dream, and we have the ability. And we started to achieve a lot of our goals. And we will not stop here. We will build our country. And we’re not only talking about Yemen here. I’m talking about every nation or every people that are looking toward freedom.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Democracy Now! interview (2011)

People , Dreams , Problem , Freedom

“In my capacity as a leader of the popular and youth revolution in Yemen, I reaffirm our adherence to the peaceful nature of our struggle until the end. At the same time, I ardently call upon the free people of the world to examine what is happening in my country and Syria especially, and to honour their responsibilities to confront rulers who do not hesitate to carry out the most heinous crimes against people who have the temerity to demand their natural rights to freedom and dignity.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, The world must not forsake Yemen's struggle for freedom (2011)

People , Youth , World , Peace

“My aim for now is to lead a peaceful revolution to remove this regime. I think if I can be in the street with the people I can achieve more than if I am the president.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Tawakul Karman, Yemeni activist, and thorn in the side of Saleh (2011)

People , Peace , Thinking

“Students’ role doesn’t end in the classroom. Student-led movements have always been a part in changing history and fulfilling peoples’ dreams of achieving freedom and dignity”

Tawakkol Karman

interview after her speech
2010s, Nobel Prize winner highlights women’s role in Arab Spring (2011)

People , Dreams , History , Freedom

“To begin, I am a citizen of the world. The Earth is my country, and humanity is my nation. This is my motto: What everyone has longed for and will be achieved when all of the people shall also celebrate this prize that every Yemeni, and every Arab, and every human being and every woman has also won beside me.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Nobel Prize winner highlights women’s role in Arab Spring (2011)

People , World , Country

“So what happens when the regime falls, as it must? We are in the first stage of change in our country, and the feeling among the revolutionaries is that the people of Yemen will find solutions for our problems once the regime has gone, because the regime itself is the cause of most of them. A new Yemen awaits us, with a better future for all.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Our revolution's doing what Saleh can't – uniting Yemen (2011)

People , Feeling , Problem , Change

“If the US and Europe genuinely support the people, as they say, they must not betray our peaceful revolution. It is the expression of the democratic will of the overwhelming majority of the people of Yemen.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Our revolution's doing what Saleh can't – uniting Yemen (2011)

People , Peace , Support

“The young people of this revolution have made their demands clear: authority must be handed over to a transitional presidential council approved by the people…Yemen’s people have charted the course of revolution and we will follow this course to its end. We have left our authoritarian past behind. Now, we ask our friends in Washington and Riyadh to help us build a democratic future.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Yemen’s Unfinished Revolution, 2011

People , Past , Future , Help

“The least we desire from the institutions of the free world, and especially the US and the countries of the European Union, is that they appreciate our struggle for freedom. We want them to discharge their responsibilities towards vulnerable people and support them in the face of the cruelty of rulers who continue to kill.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, The world must not forsake Yemen's struggle for freedom (2011)

People , World , Support , Freedom

“The extremist people hate me. They speak about me in the mosques and pass round leaflets condemning me as un-Islamic.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Tawakul Karman, Yemeni activist, and thorn in the side of Saleh (2011)

Hate , People

“With two civil wars, an al-Qaida presence and 40% unemployment, what else is President Saleh waiting for? He should leave office now…This revolution is inevitable, the people have endured dictatorship, corruption, poverty and unemployment for years and now the whole thing is exploding”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Tawakul Karman, Yemeni activist, and thorn in the side of Saleh (2011)

War , People , Waiting

“I call on the United States and the European Union to tell Saleh that he must leave now…They should end all support for his regime, especially that which is used to crush peaceful opposition…They should freeze the Saleh family's assets and those of Saleh's henchmen and return them to the people.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Our revolution's doing what Saleh can't – uniting Yemen (2011)

People , Family , Peace , Support

“…The interim presidential council will take the reins from the ousted president and his regime…We take this possibility into account, which is why we have demanded that the interim presidential council represent all the national elements, in order to meet the demands of the youth and the people. We demand that the political elements suggest names to present to the youth, since we object to anyone seizing power after Saleh, whoever they may be. These fears exist in any revolution… Whenever officials stray from the straight path, the youth must be prepared to take to the streets in every province and shout: The people want to oust the official in charge, to hold the minister accountable, to prosecute the general.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkul Karman – A Profile (2011)

People , Youth , Fear

“…it is inappropriate for a public activist [to wear a niqab], since people want to see you. The Islamic faith does not mandate wearing a niqab; it is [just] a social tradition.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkul Karman – A Profile (2011)

People , Faith

“We chose to march in the streets demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an end to his corrupt and failed regime and the establishment of a modern democratic state…Yemen is now facing a complete vacuum of authority; we are without a president or parliament. Mr. Saleh may be gone, but authority has not yet been transferred to a transitional presidential council endorsed by the people.”

Tawakkol Karman

2010s, Yemen’s Unfinished Revolution, 2011

People