Zainab al-Khawaja
Zainab al-Khawaja protesting alone in the streets of Bahrain against the arrest and detention of her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja—a revered human rights defender—who entered the seventieth-day of his hunger strike. She was arrested by Bahraini security forces shortly after this photo was taken.
Zainab al-Khawaja is a daughter of a well known activist named Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. From her upbringing, she has become an activist as well. She has become particularly popular since the Bahraini uprising during the Arab Srping, when she created a twitter under the username AngryArabiya.
She has been arrested many times while participating in protests (which are illegal in her country). Many of the protests that she gets involved in deal with demanding the release of political prisoners, which she and her family have been many times. She is currently protesting for her father’s release.
In February, she was arrested, along with twelve other female protesters. When the others were released, she was kept on an indefinite term (1). A year after the revolts during the beginning of the Arab Spring, protesters had been trying to gather in the same place a year later. However, they were arrested.
“She was charged with having taken part in an ‘illegal gathering of more than five people’ and ‘participating in an illegal march’. She was given a seven-day detention order pending an investigation into the charges. She was released on 20 February and her lawyer reportedly said that when prosecutors released her from prison, they did not give any indication if the charges against her had been dropped (2).
Shortly before being arrested, Khawaja had posted a tweet stating her concern that police would begin using violence. They had apparently been threatening to shoot the protesters. This shows her bravery, and how she is willing to die for what she is fighting for – freedom.
1. Al-Akhbar. “Bahrain releases all female prisoners bar AngryArabiya” 17 Feb 2012.
2. Amnesty International. “Document – Bahrain: Further information: Woman activist released in bahrain: Zainab al-Khawaja”.
