Maryam Al Khawaja
Bahrain
About me
Maryam Al-Khawaja is a Bahraini Woman Human Rights Defender and international advocate on human rights issues. Currently working as a consultant and trainer on human rights, Al-Khawaja also serves on the Board of Directors of CIVICUS, Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy and Urgent Action Fund. She previously served as Europe Director and Interim Advocacy Director at Physicians for Human Rights, Co-Director for the Gulf Center for Human Rights and as Acting President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. Al-Khawaja played an instrumental role in the democratic protests taking place in Bahrain’s Pearl Roundabout in February 2011, which triggered a government response of widespread extra judicial killings, arrests, and torture. Due to her work, she has been subjected to assault, threats, defamation campaigns, imprisonment and an unfair trial. Following 2011, Al-Khawaja emerged as a leading voice for human rights and political reform in Bahrain and the Gulf region. She has been influential in shaping official responses to the atrocities in Bahrain and the Gulf around the world by engaging with prominent European and American policymakers. Al-Khawaja has received numerous awards for her human rights work, including the Rafto Prize, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize along with her father and sister.