WUNRN
YEMEN - WOMEN ATTACKED IN PEACE
PRIZE CELEBRATION
Karman
during anti-government protests in
Jonathan Terry | 11 October 2011
Dozens of
women were reportedly injured in
According to
reports, pro-government men threw stones at women who were taking part in a
peaceful women’s march in the south-western city of
“Yemeni
authorities must protect the right to freedom of expression, which includes not
tolerating violent attacks on peaceful marches,” said Malcolm Smart, Director
of Amnesty International’s
“A full,
independent and impartial investigation must be carried out to identify and
bring to justice all those responsible for wounding dozens of women at the
Ta’izz march.”
Yesterday’s
march in Ta’izz was called after last Friday’s announcement that Karman, a
young Yemeni rights activist, would be among three women to receive the 2011
Nobel Peace Prize.
As a
journalist and President of the NGO Women without Chains, Karman has long
campaigned against human rights violations in
The activist
was involved in this year’s pro-reform protests in
She shares
this year’s Nobel Peace Prize with two Liberian women, President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf and rights activist Leymah Gbowee. She is the first Arab woman to win
the prize.
“These attacks
on a peaceful gathering in Ta’izz come just days after the Nobel Peace Prize
highlighted the struggle for rights in
“The whole
world continues to watch as Yemeni authorities fail to act on demands for
reform while peaceful protest is being violently suppressed.”
A larger
march, involving both men and women, condemning yesterday’s attack and
celebrating Karman’s Nobel peace prize on top of its usual anti-government
calls also took place in Ta’izz today. A pro-government group reportedly
attacked a group of women who were near the
Since
February 2011, scores of people have been killed and more than a thousand have
been injured in protests across
** Amnesty
International’s press statement was used in this report.