15 OCTOBER 2011

Three years ago at a debate on freedom of opinion, Yemeni journalist activist Tawakkul Karman started by announcing that she had something to do first before entering into substance. She uplifted her Yemeni imposed veil, showing her full face.

"That's who I am," she announced.

Since then, she fearlessly faced varied opponents: Reactionary "macho" tribal mentality, and repression by dictator Ali Abdallah Saleh. In a very thinly veiled threat, the 35 year-long dictator called her brother to tell him that his government will not be responsible for whatever harm Tawakkul will suffer from then on. She was arrested in her hometown of Taiz but released the following day after widespread popular pressure. She formed first a group called "Women Without Shackles." Then she formed "Women Journalists Without Barriers."

Her fight for freedom and democracy did not conflict with her deep faith in her religion Islam. She combated an oppressive mentality and domineering authority long before the recent uprising. She was in the forefront of the current fight. While her husband joined her in a nearby makeshift tent, she kept her three children with her mother. Despite pressure and ?, she stood by her principles -- always maintaining her winning smile.

The 32-year-old Tawakkul is the first Arab woman to receive the Nobel Prize. It was indicative of a whole new Arab world that the pioneer of female rights in the region came from the least developed, that the most effective one was not a sophisticated stylish urban socialite from Cairo or Beirut, but a straightforward clear-headed woman from Taiz. It is similarly indicative that when she was telephoned the news, she dedicated the prize to the active Arab Spring and those steadfast in the squares of Yemen. She continued: "We will retain the dignity of our people and their rights by bringing down the oppressive regime."