The first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize wants Britain to freeze President Saleh’s assets, and tells Channel 4 News she was laughed at for protesting – until the Tunisian revolution.
Tawakkul Karman was one of three woman awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her activism work in Yemen.
The 32-year-old journalist met with Foreign Secretary William Hague on Thursday to ask him to freeze the assets of Yemen‘s president Ali Abdullah Saleh and has also called on the UN to refer the killing of protesters in the country to the International Criminal Court for investigation.
Speaking to Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, Ms Karman said the West should be optimistic about the future of Yemen, despite internal problems.
“They [the West] have to know that we will achieve all our dreams. The greatest countries in the world did not achieve democracy in one step,” she said, but added that economic sanctions, rather than military intervention, is what is required.
“I tell the West to be responsible – I don’t encourage them to intervene.”
Ms Karman has been protesting in front of the capital city’s cabinet buildings since 2007 and has been arrested three times for her campaigns, but she said that she wasn’t taken seriously until the start of the Arab Spring in Tunisia.
“Many people laughed at us because we were just 3 women and a small group of men,” she said.
But after the Tunisian revolution, she changed the focus of the protest – from specific issues to calling for an end to the regime.
“We listened to the voice of Tunisian people,” Ms Karman told Channel 4 News. “Tunisia showed us – you can’t struggle with this regime. You must get rid of it and build a new country. Build a democracy.”
The Arab Spring was the first step towards achieving democracy, but it is only the start, said Ms Karman. “There are many steps – number one, is the step down of the dictator,” she said, added that the final step is “reaching democracy and citizenship.”
In a country where the vast majority of women wear a niqab, Ms Karman is unusual for showing her face and wearing a veil.
It was a deliberate decision to help her break down the “walls” between herself and society, she told Channel 4 News.
“What I believe – if a woman wants to participate in public life, she must be strong. To be strong, she has to take off all the walls that separate her from the society,” she said.
“Because of that, I decided to take off the veil, and I encourage other woman to take off the veil. But – it’s her choice. Not force her to take it off [sic].”