Kawkab Al-Thaibani

Kawkab Al-Thaibani (@Kawkab) is a peace activist, women’s rights defender, and gender and communication expert in Yemen and the Middle East. Kawkab has led global and national strategies as well as research and analysis on economic empowerment, advocacy, gender, peace and security, and the Sustainable Development Goals, working with international organizations including UNDP and UN Women.

Kawkab is a seasoned trainer in peace, gender, and media in the Middle East region. She is the founder of She4Society initiative, a newly formed initiative aimed at empowering women to achieve peace. Kawkab is co-founder and former founding director of Women4Yemen Network, a network of women activists who advocate for women in peace and security in Yemen. She serves on the advisory board of the Yemeni Archive, an independent platform for documenting human rights and other violations by parties to the conflict in Yemen.

In 2019, Kawkab was recognized as one of TRT World Research Centre’s “Women of War” for her role in peacebuilding. Starting her career as a journalist, she published many articles for global media outlets such as El País and The New York Times. Kawkab was selected as one of 30 women leaders by Vital Voices Global Partnership for the 2022 VVengafge fellowship program.

She completed the 2008 USA NESA Undergraduate Exchange Program in Jackson, Mississippi. She studied a master’s degree in Gender and Development at Sana’a University, Yemen, one of the first students to enroll in the centre co-established by the deceased Raufa Hassan, an iconic Yemeni feminist. .